Act Naturally: Discontinued
by Ms. AtomicBomb
Summary: This story has been discontinued but is to be re-uploaded and perfected in the upcoming weeks, sorry for the inconvenience and please understand. Thank you for your time, and have a great day.
1. Four Simple Words

"Your marks are dropping." That was how it had all begun. Four words had begun one hell of a roller coaster.

"They are fine." She almost hissed as she collected her books, putting them back in her bag quickly, wishing to get out of the classroom.

He took a deep breath, "You are one of my best students... Well... the best. I cannot have your marks dropping."

"Your average is not the only important thing here." Her voice was sharp, stinging him.

No one would dare talk back to him, it was unseen and uncalled for. His female students would drool over him for the entirety of the class, and his male students respected him. But Arturia was someone totally different, he had not dealt with such a troublesome child ever before.

"It is not my class average that I am worried about, it is _your_ average." He nearly gritted his teeth.

"Well, sir, you need not worry, my marks are decent. They will remain that way." She slung the backpack over her shoulder and nodded her head.

"Miss Pendragon, I-"

"Mister Ua Duibhne, I must go. Now. So if you would be so kind and to excuse me..." She took a step to her right and walked past him.

He sighed loudly again and turned to face her. "If you need any help, I am always available." He said her way.

"I will not need your help." She stated and exited the room.

She was a bit too harsh, but it was in her nature. He took in a sharp intake of breath and ran a hand through his hair, did she have to be so blunt?

"What a flirt." She grumbled under hear breath, holding her bag strap lightly.

He had called her to remain after class and they both waited until every single student had left the room; even when the girls would stop and flirt with him.

"What did he want to talk about?" Jeanne asked, leaning on Arturia's locker.

Arturia rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. "My marks... I mean; why does he care? It is not his life."

The blue eyed girl laughed lightly and stepped aside. "He is genuinely a good guy, but he should not interfere too much, right?"

"Hmm." She nodded, her stubborn curl bobbing slightly.

"Personally, I think that he is a rather good teacher, non?"

"I mean... He is, but he should not care about his students too much; is it not already too troublesome to teach them, let alone pay attention to their problems?" She shrugged, her green eyes rolling once more.

"He is only trying to watch out for them, I don't think he means any harm."

Arturia collected her books and dropped off her mathematics; she was able to finish the homework as she awaited for everyone to leave the class. She did not like the school and always wished for the day to fly because she was not in any mood to learn a single thing. Of course she always finished her homework and had straight eighties, in Mathematics it had been a ninety, but she became caught up in other things and her marks had dropped.

"I have to get home; I only came to remind you that the assignment is due tomorrow." Jeanne smiled, knowing that the other would quickly board her motorcycle and drive off.

"The English assignment?"

"Oui, good luck with it, because I know you have not even started on it."

"Do you need a ride home?" Arturia questioned, her eyebrow raising.

"Have I not said that I do not like motorcycles; they scare me -in case you have forgotten." Jeanne shivered and shook her head to decline the offer.

Arturia nodded and sighed. "Right, I had almost forgotten." She stated. "Alright, then see you tomorrow."

"Au revoir!" And with a simple wave of her hand, Jeanne walked off in the opposite direction of where the other young girl was heading.

Arturia shoved her books in her backpack and grabbed the sweater that remained in her locker. She took off the school blazer and placed on a large black baggy sweater; 'Mumford and Sons' it read across the chest. She slung the bag back over her shoulders and pulled out her blue iPod shuffle, plugging in the head phones and pressing the play button. Music filled her ears as she passed the hallways and headed for the parking lot.

"Arturia!" She had not heard it at first but her name came again and again.

The blond head spun around and she came face-to-face with the 6 feet tall male, well, more like face-to-chest. Her green orbs followed up from the tie to the man's face. She saw his lips move but did not hear him, of which was when she remembered her ear buds. She removed one of the white ear buds and looked up at him with a confused face.

"You left your phone and book behind." The young teacher handed her the two items.

She took them in her hands and kept silent, only staring at him with a serious face.

"Oh, um, be careful will you? Motorcycles are involved in lots of accidents lately; drivers are also careless around this time of year." His hand went to rub the back of his neck as the girl stood still, one ear listening to music and the other to his voice.

She returned the objects and turned around.

"Are they not-"

"Can you put them in my bag?" She grumbled, the time had come and past to put her items inside her bag and she was too lazy to take it off again just to put a stupid phone and book in -although it was a really good book.

"Ah." The man chuckled and slowly opened her bag. "I though you were going to leave." He placed the things neatly inside and closed the bag again.

"I can take care of myself." She stated before walking away and putting the ear bud back on.


	2. Not Working

The following day she had arrived late for mathematics class, not because of the busy hallways, or because she was caught skipping; but because she had not handed in her English assignment, causing her teacher to call onto her and speak to her after class. She was tired of teachers calling on her, talking to her about problems that did not concern them the slightest bit.

"Miss Pendragon, do you mind explaining to me why you are late?" The dark haired male crossed his arms as he watched her enter the room.

She did not respond and he bit his bottom lip in exasperation. "Both my time and the class' time is wasted when a student arrives late. Usually, I do not really mind, but I am tired that my students are using my kindness to their advantage. Not only Miss Pendragon has arrived late," as if on cue a blond male entered the room, making the class slightly gasp and causing a stir in the stomachs of most of the students, "oh, speak of the devil! Gilgamesh, take a seat."

The red-eyed male groaned and sat next to Arturia, his usual seating arrangement.

"I was saying how tired I was of my students coming in late." He set the dry erase marker down on the table, closing the Functions textbook. "Most of you are not doing so well in this course," his orange eyes landed upon some students, including Arturia, "with the exception of some students. You come in late," Diarmuid began to count on his fingers, "whether it be five or twenty minutes late, you never do your homework, and then come complaining to me that you did not get a good grade on your examinations and _try_ to fish for marks. I consider myself a very nice person, if not a good teacher, and girls are not doing their work, not copying the notes and all the males do is talk in class. Since we are in a math class will you all add that up for me? What does it make?" He looked upon the quiet students; knowing that no one would say a single word. "A huge disappointment of a class; that is what it makes. I am tired of this, either you all change your act, or I become more strict."

No one spoke and no one dared make eye contact with the nothing-but angry teacher. "The class is staying in for detention." He sat picked the marker back up and wrote a page number and some questions on the board. "Start on your homework." He had purposely written down a lot of questions so that they would not finish it by the end of their detention. "And no talking." His jaw clenched as he heard some whispers between the teenagers.

The remainder of the time had gone awfully slow and all Arturia did was stare out of the window, not even caring to start on her homework. The bell rang and no one moved, all that was heard was the chattering of the students that exited their classroom and invaded the hallways.

"I have decided to let you go," as the words slipped from his mouth students stood from their seats, "_but_, that is only to those who have finished at least half of the work that I had assigned." Groans filled the air. "I have given you more than enough time. Come up by alphabetical order and show me your work."

People sat down and others stood walking to his desk and showing the progress of their work. Some were excused and others sat back down, until Arturia came up. He looked at her notebook and gasped too fast that he choked. He had to cough a couple of times as he messaged his temples and sent her to sit back down. She had not even written the date down.

Around six people were left in the class for detention; of course including Arturia and Gilgamesh, who clearly hated the teacher.

"I hope that you 'lucky' six change your act, I at least expected some work done, but this is beyond me, I feel that you all are not going to change, are you?"

No one had said a word until Arturia decided to speak. "I may not do my work and I may come late but my marks are fine. I believe that an eighty-four is more than good enough, so please if I so may be excused." She stood.

"I do not care if you have a good mark right now, I care if your mark is dropping and if you do your work. Not doing your work disrespects me as a teacher and I will not stand for that sort of ridicule." He did not sound as upset as he had had earlier but he was disappointed nonetheless.

"It is not my fault that you care so much. It is not your life. It is not any of your business." She hissed.

His eyes grew and he drew a shaky breath. "You are all dismissed, except for Miss Pendragon."

Arturia sighed in response as she watched everyone leave the room; Gilgamesh muttering a 'You really did it this time, huh?'. "I see no need to be here." She stated as everyone had left.

"Do you hate me?" He asked in a way that she somewhat pitied him. "I am only watching out for my students because I wish for them to succeed; if that offends you in any way I do not mean to do so."

"Sir, I do not want you to pry into my business; my marks are my marks alone. They should not be any of your business."

"I can help you; if you need help to improve your grades, I can help you."

"Stop, Mister Ua Duibhne, I do not need your help and I do not want to get help from you even if I do need it."

"Miss Pendragon, I will always be willing to help; I know that right now, you do not want any help. But you can always trust in me, alright?" He knew that whatever was making her marks drop was troubling her, and he wanted to make sure that if she needed anyone, he was always there. In a way that would not jeopardize both of their reputations.

"I really do not care. I do not need your help." She spat and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Where do you think you are going?" He raised an eyebrow. "You are still in detention."

"I am going home. I do not need a teacher flirting with me."

"Flirting? Excuse me, what kind of person do you think I am?" His brows furrowed and he slightly scrunched his nose. "Only because smitten young ladies are annoying does not mean that I am participating in the flirting. I am being a teacher here-"

"A teacher does not offer to be confiding."


	3. Still Being Troublesome?

**~Author's Note~**

**Hey, So this is my first Author's Note on this story and I can already see that you people are liking it; is that right? I said is that right?! *Cricket sounds in the crowd* Ha..haha..hah... Well, thank you for your reviews! Thank you for the follows too! You guys are awesome. Okay so, I very much love this pairing; Diarturia, so adorable! Anyway yes there will be, of course, a relationship and I have way too many ideas and scenes for this story and I hope that I can write them all! If you have any questions you can always ask because I will be happy to answer them!**

**AGAIN THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS! **

**HAVE AN AMAZING DAY!**

**Sincerely,**

**~Ms. AtomicBomb**

* * *

He let her leave the class on the condition that he was to be a harder marker: that went for the entire class. He never understood why she was so rude, he was kind to her and she always showed attitude. If a teacher hated something more than anything else in their life; it was a sassy teenager. He took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes, she was causing him an oncoming headache.

He had been lenient with his students, but no more. He was tired of people using him to their advantage. He felt he was a good teacher, and he really was; his students always liked the way he taught because he waited for everyone to learn the concept and taught it in an easy way that the students comprehended quickly.

He drew a deep breath and sat back on chair, spinning around on it a couple of times. His hands were playing with the dry erase marker and his feet were moving so that the chair would spin. He did not like some of his students; beginning with Gilgamesh and ending with Arturia.

A knock on his door interrupted his train of thought and he looked over at it, watching intently as the door creaked open and in came a young girl. She looked a lot like Arturia, save for the different hair style and colour of eyes, but the male recognized her a Arturia's best friend; Jeanne.

"Sir, I am sorry to interrupt you," she began, her voice rather timid.

"Do not worry, Miss d'Arc, you haven't interrupted anything." He smiled.

The young girl stepped into the classroom, leaving the door open and walked to the male's desk. "Arturia has been getting in trouble lately and..."

Diarmuid raised his dark eyebrow as he awaited for the girl to finish.

"May you please be kind to her? She's just been going through some tough stuff and she does not have time to do her work. I have been trying to help her catch up on her work and that is why her marks are staying at a comfortable percentage, but... But... She does not really like to talk about her problems, so could you maybe not put her in detention or -you know -not cause her trouble?"

"The thing is, miss d'Arc, that I am way too kind to her and she does not return the attitude. I even offered to help her with her mathematics, she only offended me."

"Gil and I will force her to come and get your help." Jeanne insisted.

"Gil?"

"Gilgamesh; he is somewhat Arturia's friend, but since we all need math help we can come after school and you can help us all." She offered.

"Since my students come first, I agree, but please make sure that she does not offend me any more." He sighed and stood from his seat.

"Oh, thank you, sir! Thank you." Jeanne smiled brightly and headed for the door. "I will not disappoint." She said as she left the room.

* * *

"Or maybe I will..." Jeanne grumbled the following day as Arturia, Gilgamesh and her were in the mathematics classroom after school where Arturia had picked a fight with the teacher yet again.

The male with the beauty mark under his eye sat down on his desk. "You can teach yourself, Arturia, there are people that do want to learn and I have tried to be a good teacher, I have tried to be an ally to you, and all you do is try and ridicule me. You can leave the class, you already know where the exit is." He looked her in the eyes and kept a straight face.

Arturia only began to pack her books and pencils, until Jeanne placed her hand in the other's. "Let's learn, okay?" Her violet eyes gazed up at the green ones with such hope.

"Fine." Arturia sat back down and opened her book again.

"Apologize?" Jeanne mumbled.

"Ugh," Arturia groaned and rolled her eyes, "forgive me, sir, I was a bit harsh."

He knew that she did not mean it but he accepted the apology anyway, Diarmuid stood up once more and walked up to the white board for possibly the fifth time in twenty minutes. "Alright then, so if we have a polynomial and using the knowledge of pascal's triangle, we know that-"

"Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, please report to the office, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne." Clearly whoever had made the announcement was having lots of trouble pronouncing his name.

"Dismissed." He sighed and rolled his eyes slightly. "I expect you here after school tomorrow as well." He announced as they all rushed out of the room.

Gilgamesh followed the girls to Arturia's locker and leaned on one beside her's.

"Should you not be off to your mansion?" Arturia grumbled as she raised her eyebrow.

Gilgamesh laughed and smiled at her. "After that stupid teacher 'helps' us out, we will go out on a date." He said and turned to leave.

Arturia furrowed her brows as Jeanne kept silent, her violet gaze on the floor. "Excuse me, do you think you own me?"

"I already said we were to be together from the day we met, so you are going to go out on that date with me, no and, ifs or buts." He began to walk off and she followed after him, leaving Jeanne to watch over her locker.

"Gilgamesh!" The green eyed girl growled.

"Then it's settled, be ready by then." And with a simple wink her way, he disappeared around the corner, leaving a rather angry Arturia.

"What am I to do?" She grumbled. "I had promised _him, _and now I am late. He will surely get mad and I cannot deal with that right now."

"If you ever need somewhere to go, you can over to my place." Jeanne was not much of a person to console, but she always tried her best to be the best friend anyone could be, which was more than enough for Arturia.

Due to her lateness, she hurried and bid a quick farewell to her friend, giving her a light hug and hurrying off to the motorcycle. She had remembered to stop by the convenience store to buy the milk they needed and she was back on the road, ignoring her helmet. As always, the stop light had slowed her day down and she awaited for the vibrant green to flash on.

"Pendragon?" A voice next to her caught her attention. She tilted her head and the golden-eyed male came into view. "Why are you not wearing a helmet?" He was in his car, a coffee in his right hand and the steering wheel in his left as he peered over at the young lady in the motorcycle.

"Is it any of your business?" She inquired.

"Yes." He laughed; that must have been her favourite line because she used it against him all the time. "That is because it is the law." He reasoned, his eyes squinting lightly.

Cars horned behind them, of which was when they noticed that the green light had come out from hiding. "Be careful." He called out before driving off.


	4. Bruises and Scratches

**~Author's Note~**

**Hey guys! Thanks for the Reviews again! I'm glad you guys are liking the story and I would just like to say that I love you all! Thank you! Well you know, the only reason her marks are staying up is because Jeanne is trying to help her friend, but they will start to drop even more ;) I introduce Uther in this chapter because I needed a reason for her marks to drop. This chapter is quite explanatory and stuff, it is also the longest one! Yay! Have fun reading! Don't forget to follow and favourite~! Reviews are always welcomed!**

**Sincerely,**

**~Ms. AtomicBomb**

* * *

"Be careful?" She hissed under hear breath as she parked her bike. "Why does he care? It is not even his life."

Arturia could not stand him. She found him too irritating for comfort; he was always trying to pry into her life and did not even care that she was his student. She rolled her eyes as she opened the door, _it is nice that he_ cares, she thought but then shook her head, mentally scolding herself for thinking that.

"Arturia? Where have you been; you had promised to be here earlier!" Her father screamed from what sounded like the living room.

"My mathematics teacher was helping me with a question, Father." She replied in a somewhat soft voice, it was loud, but it held a soft tone.

"You are always making up excuses to go along with why things happen." He grumbled.

Arturia slipped her shoes off and walked down the long hallway to meet her father who, as she knew, was sitting on the couch with a whiskey bottle in his hand. The blond sighed and shook her head lightly, leaving the milk on the kitchen counter. "Father, I had said that you should stop drinking." She walked towards him and lifted the empty bottles from the coffee table.

"You cannot tell me what to do!" He snapped at her.

"Father, you should go to sleep and sober up, I will prepare you a coffee when you awaken, alright?" She kept her calm, taking the bottles back into the kitchen and making them line the counter top, she made a mental note to wash them later and put them in the recycling bin. Her feet were quick to return to her father. "Put the bottle down," her delicate hand perched itself on the man's hand, "you should not drink too much."

"And what do you do? You don't do anything here!" Her father retracted his hand harshly.

"Father I-"

"It was your fault! It is all your fault!"

"Fath-"

"Your mother died because of you!" How many times had she heard that this month? She knew, she knew already. It did not have to be repeated to her by someone else; she already did so every night.

"I know father." She mumbled lightly, looking away from him.

"Then why do you not disappear already and bring her back? Why did it have to be her? Why was it not you?" Her father was now screaming, his grey eyes seeming so cold that it burned her like dry ice. She bit back her feelings and kept an indifferent look on her face, seeming as if she did not feel a single thing. "You do not even dare deny it! You do not even care!"

"Do not drink too much." She mumbled once more, her eyes on the floor.

She witnessed as the glass bottle fell from her father's hand and shattered on the floor, releasing the contents inside of it and wetting both their feet. "Now look at what you did, you ungrateful child." He took hold of her wrists, shaking her violently.

"Father, please." She nearly let her voice crack, her eyes still suppressed the fear she held.

"Everything is your fault!" He let go of one of her wrists, slapping her right across the face, cutting her cheek in the process with his ring of marriage.

Arturia took in a sharp intake of breath as the palm made contact with her face, she bit her bottom lip so as to not make a single sound but the fear leaked into her eyes.

Her father gasped and let her go, both their hands dropping. "A-Arturia... I-I-"

"It's alright father." Her voice was so weak and it pained him. He engulfed her into a hug and apologized a repeated number of times.

"I am sorry, darling, forgive me." He would repeat as he cried into her shoulder. "I did not mean what I said."

"I know father." She softly rubbed his back to calm him down. She had to be the stronger one nowadays. Her mother had died little than two months prior, and all her father would do was drink to forget the pain of his loss. No one other than Jeanne knew about the accident because Arturia did not want people's views on her to change, even if she was going through a tough time and people would say things that made her heart drop, or make her want to make contact on their face with her fist.

Once she had taken her father to his bed and tucked him in, so that he would rest, but leaving him in a position in which he would be safe from choking, she walked to the washroom and rubbed her face, remembering the stinging pain on her cheek.

She looked into the mirror and noted the thin scratch on her cheek; it was not deep but bleeding nonetheless. Her wrists were also red and she immediately knew that she would have bruises the following day. She never hated her father, she never did. Uther was a harsh man but he loved her, she was his daughter and the only thing he had left, but she would not dare hate him, even if he hurt her.

* * *

"If you ever need to get away, remember that I will always be here to support you." Jeanne reminded her as the left the parking lot and headed inside the school.

"Hmm." Arturia had tried to cover the scratch with simple make-up and made sure not to roll up her long sleeves for she had seen that the purple bruise had begun to emerge.

"I know that Uther is a good man, but if you ever need help, I am here for you."

"I know." Arturia tried to pull a small and grateful smile to assure her friend that she was fine.

"If you cannot stay after school today, you can go ahead of me, I will go over and explain to you what he taught us, okay?" Jeanne stated as they stopped by her locker first, since it was already on the first floor.

"I can stay today, don't worry."

"I will stand up for you if Sir gets mad." The violet-eyed female chuckled. Arturia wished they were in the same class so she did not have to deal with Gilgamesh, but Jeanne had mathematics during first period, while the other had it during last period.

"You don't need to." Arturia laughed and they went to the mathematics class she hated a little too much.

Upon entering, Arturia bumped into the male once more, her head hitting his chest hard. She closed her eyes shut and opened them once more as she blurted out, "Watch where you're going, dimwit."

The figure laughed and looked down upon her. "You don't speak to a teacher like that, yet again; you always do."

"Ugh, it's you." The green eyes rolled and a loud grunt left her lips.

"Did you fall off your bike?" He tilted his head slightly to the side, noticing her attempt in trying to cover the scratch.

She furrowed her brows, which was when she noticed that they were much too close, in fact so close that she almost had to look up towards the ceiling to meet his eyes. "Can you move? Not only are you too close but I was just bringing Jeanne to her class, I do not have to deal with you until the end of the day."

He blushed and took a step back and another to the side. "What happened to your cheek?" He rephrased his question.

"I fell off my bike when I parked it." She hissed.

"You should have been wearing a helmet like I told you."

"Oh, shu-"

"Artie, we aren't here to fight." Jeanne had to interfere, in order to stop the other from bickering.

"Yeah but-"

"Who's the taller one here?"

Arturia's emerald orbs doubled in size, she did not like to be called out on her height. "That's not fair! Two inches is not much of a difference!" The warning bell rand and Arturia sighed in defeat. "See you at lunch?" She raised an eyebrow.

Jeanne nodded. "Mhm." She assured and watched as the other girl made her way out of the class, not forgetting to glare at the teacher.

They did not speak of the incident for the entire day after that, not even when they shared lunch, which upset Jeanne because she wanted to make sure that her friend was doing well, she did not want Arturia to be upset or anything of the sort.

"Artie!" Jeanne waved over at her friend as she entered the now empty mathematics classroom. She had to wait outside for a rather long time because girls lingered in the class, flirting with the teacher and making sure that their skirts would climb an inch higher every day to impress the male, not that he even cared.

"Jeanne, how was last period?" She asked as the girl had sat down on the desk in front of her, because Gilgamesh still occupied the seat next to her.

"We learnt more about the middle ages, so it was great." The violet eyes sparked at the mention of history class;it was her favourite.

Arturia smiled and nodded. "I'm glad that you at least have a fun class, while I am stuck in here."

"It's not so bad here; Sir is really nice." She laughed, and waited for the teacher to begin asking them what they were having trouble on.

"Since the test is on Monday, is there anything that I need to clarify?" The actual class was spent likewise the entire time, but she never liked asking questions.

"All of Unit Two please; I actually don't understand." Jeanne stated.

"All of it?"

"Yes, all of it, sir."

Diarmuid sighed and nodded. "Okay, I guess I can go over the key points that will be on the test and maybe you can come tomorrow after school so that we can finish. Okay, so we can start with the first Lesson, looking over at..."

Arturia tuned out and only stared outside the window, watching as friends met up with one another and began the walk home. She did not really have any friends, Lancelot was always heading out with Gwen, and Gawain... well he just never showed up; her only best friend was Jeanne. Plus, Gilgamesh was not even considered a friend, he was more of a nuisance, if anything.

"We should go out to the park." The red-eyed male mumbled her way.

"No." She rolled her eyes.

"How about yes?"

"No."

"I do not have an entire class, it is not as if I cannot hear you; you can make your date plans after this lesson." The teacher scratched the back of his neck.

"Sir, I am not going on any dates, can you move him? He's bothering me." She whined.

Diarmuid smiled softly, he had never heard her whine, only bicker, it was cute; she actually sounded like a girl. "Gilgamesh, would you be so kind as to move?"

"I will not." The blond stated.

"But sir!" She groaned.

"Come on, Gil, move to this desk." Diarmuid pointed at the one in front of himself, hoping that the male would obey him.

"I prefer sitting where I am."

"Fine, then I will move." She hissed, ah yes; that was more like her.

"That is alright too." His golden orbs gazed at her for some seconds. "Then sit with Jeanne."

"He'll probably pull my hair too."

"No I won't."

They really were children, weren't they? Bickering about meaningless things and whining about others. It was refreshing to see them, though.

"Let's get back to the lesson." He blew on the lock of hair that dangled in front of him.

As she stood from her seat and reached for her bag, he caught sight of the bruises on her wrists; thinking it was his imagination he blinked a couple of times and shook his head, trying to clear his mind from it all. He began with the lesson and would discretely check on her wrists, seeing if he could get a glimpse of them once more.

"Oh, my, look at the time; it's four... you guys should get going, it's probably going to start raining soon." He noticed that it was grey outside and rather breezy.

The three students packed their bags and headed off, but Arturia stayed behind, telling the other two to meet her at her locker, except that was only intended for Jeanne, but Gilgamesh had so decided that it involved him as well. "I just need to ask some questions." She said as they exited the room, Jeanne closing the door behind her.

"Why do you keep looking at me?" She hissed as her palms hit his desk.

He was startled for sure, looking up at her from the papers in front of him. "Hmm?"

"You kept looking my way. I haven't any idea of what you were looking at and I don't want to know, I just want it to s-"

"Your wrists. I was looking at your wrists." He replied, blinking up at her, stating it in a deadpan manner.

Some sort of fear was evident in her expressionless features and he sighed. "I will not tell anyone, as long you can tell me who did it to you." His hunch was answered when she was packing her books and he had wanted to ask her about it, but it was better that she had brought up in a way he was able ask her so.

"That is-"

"None of my business, yes I know you too well. Sadly, as a teacher, it is my business, I could redirect you to a social worker and-"

"Are you threatening me?" Her voice came out a little too harsh.

He took a deep breath. "No, I am not. I want to know what is happening. Who hurt your wrists?"

"I fell off my bike, as I told you this morning." She replied in monotone.

"Was it Gilgamesh?" He wouldn't fall fr that lie.

"Gilgamesh?" Her knitted together.

"He is your boyfriend, isn't he? And he does seem a little... well, I'm guessing you know." His eyes drifted from hers slowly.

"My boy- He is not. He is simply a bit possessive over someone that does not belong to him."

"Then maybe your boyfriend."

"I have no boyfriend, and as I said I fell off my bike." She repeated, a little irritated at the man's persuasion.

"Was it your father?" He looked back at her, focusing on her features.


	5. Snap Out Of It

"You can trust me." He mumbled so lightly that if the rain had started to fall onto the earth a little earlier, she would not have heard him.

The water droplets began to fall to the floor softly forming a white noise as she stared at him in some sort of despair and sadness. Maybe it was just him because her face did look indifferent, as it always did, but he felt some sadness fill the room.

"I fell off my bike."

"Do not lie to me, Arturia, I know you did not." He stood and her eyes followed him.

"I did so." Her voice was so quite but he could hear her, it was all he could hear.

Maybe it was actually the rain outside or something else, but the atmosphere felt heavy as he rounded the desk and stood behind her. She turned to face him slowly, he was close to her but at a comfortable distance.

"Could you please show me your wrists?" His voice came as a soft whisper to her.

Her blond hair wiped softly as she shook hear head.

"You can trust me, Pen-Arturia." He was closer now, and she shut her eyes, that was until she felt a warm hand on her own. She did not retract her hand or deny the touch, she only obeyed as the man brought her hand up slowly. His grip was gentle and as he pulled her sleeve up until her mid-forearm, his fingers ghostly danced over the bruises. "Did he mean to?" His touch warm warm, causing her stomach to turn.

"He... He was drunk." It was surprising that she even told him. She did not even understand how the words escaped her lips. "But he apologized."

"That's good." The male smiled softly as he took her other hand as well, checking it over, then slowly setting it down. His left hand remained holding her right and he took her chin in his own right hand. He gently lifted her head so that her green gaze would meet his. His thumb softly glided over her bottom lip.

His touch made goosebumps form all over her body, she looked up at him a little dumbfounded, not knowing what he was thinking. He still held a small smile, but his eyes seemed different, they seemed tender as his eye lids became half lidded and he brought his face to hers.

Her heart fluttered a tiny little bit as the space between them decreased, his left hand climbing up to her neck as his other cupped her cheek. She closed her eyes as she felt his breath on her lips, they were centimeters apart, until thunder rolled, causing both of them to jump in panic and slip away from each other.

"I-I-" She did not know what to say, her heart felt heavy and she tried to not look at him.

"You... You should get going, Pendragon." His voice was a little shaky and he too did not dare look her in the eyes.

"Yeah, uh... yeah." She ran a hand through her hair, of which she remembered that it was actually held in a pony tail, and felt even more embarrassed than she already was. As she was leaving, she had dropped her books before she reached the door.

"Do you-"

"No... I-I'm fine." Her voice was soft. Arturia picked up the books and felt a little too disoriented as she stood.

"U-Umm, you... you should take the bus. Since, you know, it's-uh- it's raining outside." He was pulling at his tie for he felt chocked.

"Ah," she had stopped by the door, "y-yes. Of course." He noted that she was walking a little bit wobbly as she left and he mentally blamed himself.

"What took you so long?" Jeanne looked over at the shorter of the two.

"Questions..." Arturia replied, a little quietly.

"And what happened to you?" Violet eyes filled with concern, as the other took even more time to open her lock,fumbling around with it.

"What happened to Gilgamesh?"

"He got tired of waiting. You ignored my question." Jeanne repeated, smart enough to not fall for the other girl's trick.

"He saw," Arturia dropped her head, "my wrists."

Jeanne stood up straight and looked at Arturia. "What?" She tilted her head.

"He promised not to tell."

"But he's still a teacher, it is his duty to tell."

"And we-" She didn't want to say it.

"And you what?" The French girl stood patiently waiting for her friend's response.

"We," She did not know how to say it, "almost kissed." It was so quite once she had spit it out, Jeanne herself barely heard it, or maybe she was processing it because it took her a while to understand.

"What?" She somewhat raise her voice, not believing it.

"I-I don't know... We... we were just so close- and- and-"

"Hey, hey, calm down. It didn't happen, so everything's good." Jeanne interrupted as Arturia rambled on and on.

"If it weren't for the thunder it would have."

"But it didn't, so do not worry about it." The long haired female assured.

"I-I-"

Small hands were placed on Arturia's shoulders, shaking her gently. "Snap. Out. Of. It." Jeanne softly spoke. "It's like you're hypnotized. Darling, calm down, and snap out of it."

"I... Okay." Arturia sighed loudly.

Jeanne smiled and wrapped an arm around Arturia's shoulder. "Let's get home." She stated and led her towards the bus stop.

"Oh, let me just get my helmet." Arturia remembered.

"You cannot be serious; It's pouring and it is dangerous."

"I have rain gear."

"You cannot. I forbid you."

"It is not that scary, I like the rain."

"We can walk then, and leave our bags here, how about that?"

"Okay." She gave in and they both left their bags in Arturia's locker, it was so stuffed that they knew the following day it was going to be hard taking stuff out due to a possible avalanche.

The two girls ran outside and began to run home, to Jeanne's house, since it was closer and Jeanne's father could drive Arturia home.


	6. Do You Really Care?

The doorbell rang and struggled to stand. Her bones felt weak and she definitely was not in the mood to answer the door. She had been sick since Friday, the day after Jeanne and her had run home in the rain, and she was not in the mood to go and do a test that day. She had decided to stay home and wait until the sickness would pass over her.

"Yes?" She opened the door and noted that the blond male stood silently in front of her.

"Hey, where have you been? We were supposed to go on a date on Thursday but you took so long and then you haven't been showing up." The red eyes skimmed over her as he complained, his voice sounding a little concerned between its demanding tone.

She couldn't help but cough and clear her throat. "I have been sick." She stated and began to close the door, but Gilgamesh stopped it.

"Do you need any help?"

"No thank you." She was quick to reply, glaring him down.

"Come on, I'll see what I can make you, girlfriend." He took her hand and dragged her inside the house.

"I'm not your girlfriend." She pouted as they entered the kitchen.

He began opening cover panels, looking for food and what was simple enough to make for her, or more like what he could literally make. He never liked cooking, and the only thing he really ever did was instant things, but he never needed to worry about making those; they were disgusting anyways.

"You don't simply enter someone's house and look through their things, now stop and leave." She impatiently tapped her foot.

"Noodles!" He smirked as he found them and, instead of microwaving them -as he always did -he put some water to boil. "Okay, you should lie down, I can take you to your room."

"Gilgamesh, stop."

"It is my duty as your boyfriend to help you out." He smiled smugly and led her up the stairs. "Now, where is your room?" He looked over at her.

She grunted and led him towards it, her eyelids were heavy and felt as if they were burning.

"Okay, I will be back shortly, lay down." He dictated, watching her as she sat down on the bed.

He hurried back to the kitchen. Gilgamesh usually never cared and he tried not to, but he needed to care for Arturia because he, one day, wanted her to marry him; and he couldn't have a weak wife, could he? Although Arturia was a little _too_ sassy for her own good, he preferred her over anyone in the school.

Pouring the contents into the boiling water he let them sit there for a while longer before pouring the soup into a bowl. Wishing to dispose of the garbage, he opened the cover panel under the sink and came into view with a rather large amount of liquor bottles of all kinds. He blinked a couple of times and turned away, feeling that he needed to forget what had just happened and proceeded to find the garbage can, which he missed and was actually at the corner of the kitchen, close to the fridge. He took the soup up to the girl's room and entered slowly.

"I would have never taken you for a cook, Gil." She laughed weakly, her body was not in the mood of joking but she definitely was.

"I don't, this was only easy and involved little to no movement, so I thought that I would at least do it for my girlfriend." He said it as if he was completely proud of it, but she found it rather petty.

"I'm not your girlfriend." She repeated as he handed her the soup. He scoffed as she began to eat the soup, blowing unto it so that she would not burn herself.

There was silence for a long while and Gilgamesh only watched her eat the soup, she felt uneasy and tried to not make eye contact with the male. But he sat on the chair across her bed and observed her, if you so may; and the way he sat caused her a bit of irritation.

"You sit as if you were some kind of king." She rolled her eyes.

"That must mean that you are my queen."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but that was not meant as a compliment, I meant to imply to stop sitting like that because it irks me."

Gilgamesh led a chuckle escape his lips and shook his head. "My queen, answer me with a simple answer. Is everything alright?" He squinted his eyes a little bit and stared her down.

Her blond eyebrow rose as she made a sound of confusion, she did not quite understand his question.

"At home, I mean." His voice was more serious than the demanding tone it had held.

"Pardon?" She coughed a little bit.

"I saw, I saw the bottles. What happened?" He did not mean to sound so intruding, but he wanted to know.

"Nothing, it does not have to do anything with you." Her eyes drifted towards the soup and she avoided eye contact with him.

"Well, I should be off. But, good luck with whatever is happening, okay?"

"Hm." She managed to grunt under her breath, she did not like the attention she was usually getting, it honestly irritated her.

Arturia watched as he left the room and intently heard his footsteps descend down the stair and the door closing behind him. Once she had heard those sounds, she sighed deeply and put the bowl on the night stand. Gilgamesh was not the caring kind, so why had he even come to visit her?


	7. I Apologize

**¬Author's Note¬**

**Hey guys sorry for the late-ish update. It was my birthday on Friday and I have had lots of homework as well. Anyways, I want to get things moving but I feel like then it would be moving too fast, so I'm trying to build things up, in which I really suck at doing. Moving on, I hope you like the chapter and Thank you for your reviews guys! Tell me what I am doing wrong and what I am doing right! I need your criticism!**

**Thank you and enjoy!**

**Sincerely,**

**¬Ms. Atomic Bomb**

* * *

The following day, she was still ill but she was not going to miss a third day of school. Biology was already hard enough and so was math, she could not dare miss another lesson. Jeanne had come to pick her up so that the teenager would not take her motorcycle, of which was brought home to her by her father. Her father would not drink as consistently as he had, but he would still linger by the fridge as if asking Arturia for permission to have a drink.

"So what's going to happen?" The violet-eyed female spoke as they sat down at the lunch table.

"It is not fair that I got sick and you didn't." Arturia glared.

"That was because I changed as soon as I got home, and you were being stubborn and said you did not need extra clothes." Jeanne sassed. "I told you that you were going to get sick."

"What do you mean?" She recalled the previous question.

"Um, don't act like I had not warned you."

"No, I mean your question."

"Ah, what's going to happen?"

"Yeah, what do you mean?"

"Well," Jeanne picked at the pasta in front of her, "about what happened with… well with _him._" Her blonde head still focused on the food before her as the fork trailed the fettuccini slowly.

"Oh…" Arturia rubbed half her face, "That…" her cheeks were dusted with a tint of very light pink, and she avoided eye contact with the other girl. "Let's not get into that."

"I know you don't want to think about it but… Well you can't exactly ignore it. It's going to come back and bite you in the rear."

Arturia grunted and rolled her eyes. "I know, I know, but I can't just get all hung up on it the entire time too, can I?"

Jeanne did not speak and only kept playing with her pasta, taking a drink from her iced tea and continuing to pick at the food.

* * *

"So, if you are to look and transform these cosine parent functions, they would look something like this." The man graphed a quick sketch of the function as students grunted and grumbled.

"Sir, what if it has a vertical stretch of five?" A student asked.

"If it has a vertical stretch of five, it would look more like this." Another quick sketch was drawn over the graph and the student nodded in understanding.

"So if..." The lesson continued with a period of Q and A. Arturia tried to avoid the teacher's eyes and hope that they would not lock on hers during the lesson. She was biting at her bottom lip, looking out the window and trying to get him out of her mind. A soft blush was spreading across her face as she recalled how close he had been to her.

"Arturia," a voice came and she jumped in her seat, as if she was caught in a wrong doing, "pay attention." The man too tried not to make eye contact with her, but once he saw the rosy red colour on her cheeks, he could not help but blush and quickly turn away from the students and back to the board.

Her stomach made a couple of turns and she could not take the butterflies that roamed around her tummy. She was embarrassed and upset, to be quite frank.

Knowing she needed to do her test, she hung around and watched as other girls lingered after class, hoping to get 'help' from the handsome teacher.

"Well, if you are all free during your lunch time, Mrs. Sola could possibly help you." He explained. "Or you could keep silent as a student gets her test finished."

"We could keep silent." A brunette winked up at the male.

Arturia could have scoffed loudly if she wanted, but she ignored them and kept focused on the board, for he had not yet given her the test. "Sir, in kind of in a hurry, could you please give me my test?" She asked.

His face turned towards her and he flinched a little bit, trying to clear his mind of what had happened. "Ah, yes." He slowly walked to his desk and took a test paper from within the small drawer.

He brought it to her and placed it in front of her. "Ladies, if you would please." His rust orange eyes glanced at the girls then at the door. The young teenagers whined and stood from their seats before exiting the room.

Once they had left, only silence seemed to flood the room and he proceeded to sitting down on his desk, looking towards the white board. He ignored the young girl behind him and focused on the following day's lesson; how he would start and what exactly he would do. He took the text book that sat beside him and he began to figure out questions that he knew were still hard for the students. He liked giving them challenges, but he knew that they did not.

"Are you feeling better?" He mumbled as he wrote down an equation that seemed a bit hard to understand.

"P-pardon?" Once Arturia had heard herself stutter, she mentally scolded herself.

"Miss d'Arc told me that you were ill, how are you doing now?" His back was still facing her, and she found it annoying because she could not tell what he was thinking.

"Hm, yeah." She nodded and wrapped up the question she was currently on.

Another silence invaded the room as he put the book down. "About… About Thursday… I," he slowly set the textbook down as he searched for a way to phrase his thoughts, "I apologize. It was ridiculous, and stupid, and reckless, and-"

"I understand." She stopped him for he was rambling on in a frantic manner.

"I really do sincerely apologize for what I had done. I wanted to- ugh, I don't even know what to say about that." He rubbed his face and still did not look at her.

"Sir," he had not heard when she had gotten up from her seat but when he did notice, she was standing next to him, sitting on the desk as well, "I… understand." She mumbled, though she really did not.

"Uh- I really am sorry. I mean, I can't apologize enough because I know it was not my place, and it was very rude and I put you in a situation that I should not have, and-"

"And you are rambling on about meaningless things again." She chuckled. "Just be the math dork you already are." She stood from the desk and took the dry erase marker from where he had it perched upon his ear and solved the equation on the board. "Jeanne taught it to me a while ago; she said it was going to be on the test."

"Jeanne knows more than I do." Diarmuid laughed. He was glad that she did not make an awkward situation out of it, but he knew that she was more embarrassed than he.

"Her brother told her that the teachers always put it on the test since it was a very hard question and they needed to understand it for university."

"That is true." He nodded. "You… you got it right."

"Yeah, she made me memorize it."

"How are things?" He asked as he looked at her wrists.

"Good." She sighed loudly. "My father is a bit better."

"That's good." He smiled. "I hope things improve."

"They will." She assured and walked back to her desk, to finish her test.

It was rather late when she finished, but she needed to do her test or else, he would probably dismiss her mark, which she did not want at all.

She released her hair from the pony tail and packed her calculator and pencils away. Her eyelids were getting heavy and she would rub her face every so often.

"It looks really nice like that." The young teacher mumbled.

"What?" Arturia blinked her green orbs as she placed her ruler in her bag.

"Your hair…" He scratched the back of his neck.

"Thank you…" She nodded and slung the bag over her shoulder, walking towards the door. "Have a good day."

"You too." He watched as she exited the door.

Her face was red when she left the room and she felt her stomach tighten into a knot. She shook her blond head repeatedly and she tried to think of something other than him. It wasn't as if he was there when she closed her eyes, but she felt him lingering in her mind.


	8. She Hated Memories

Her eye lids were heavy, she really did try her best to stay awake; she would roll her green orbs and rub them occasionally, but the board would become blurry as her eyes would force themselves shut. She had not been able to sleep the previous night for the memories of her mother had kept her up the entire night.

"_Y-you don't understand! You never will! I-I hate you!" Those were the last words she had ever said. It hurt her, it hurt her so much because she could never ask for forgiveness._

_They had the argument over something completely meaningless and when she was home from school, she had decided to make her mother an 'apology' dinner. She did feel guilty for what she had said and she thought it was best to make it up to her; a nice fillet fish as the main and a salad for the side._

_The phone rang a couple of times and she tried to ignore it since she was busy, but she was tired of hearing the ring over and over again, and thus she answered the phone._

_The black telephone slipped from her small right hand and crashed against the floor as the knife fell from her left. Her knees gave out and she too fell to the floor, her breath escaping her lips in the process. She remembered that she screamed, but she did not recall how loudly once she had felt her heart sink to her stomach and the want to puke._

_Arturia shook her head quickly tried to dismiss it; that was not true, what she had heard was not true. It was a struggle to get up from the floor and she fell a couple of times. Her hands were shaking when she reached for her motorcycle keys and she dropped them one too many times. After giving up on the motorbike, she phoned Jeanne._

"_W-what's wrong?" The young girl was concerned when her friend called her with a shaky voice._

"_C-Can you c-come p-p-pick me up?"_

"_Yes, of course." And that was all they said before Jeanne hurried to the other's house._

_It was a sunny day, opposite to what Arturia was feeling as the people filed into the building. It was as if they were in a black and white movie. She felt dizzy as Jeanne hooked her arm around hers, keeping her up and steady, preventing her future fall. She did not want to be surrounded by people who apologized for something that they could not fix. She had never known how many family members that she actually had, until that horrid day and she wished that that event was not the one that brought everyone together._

_The black heels that she wore had to be removed because she was shaking a little too much and she would possibly collapse. And as the body was lowered she realized; her mother died in a car accident. That was when she broke._

_She ran to the lowering casket as she screamed loudly and tried to scream the death away. Jeanne ran to her side and held her back as she tried to whisper something to make her feel better. The tears streamed down her cheeks and she tried to wiggle out of the French girl's arms and bring her mother back. _

"_Please! No!" That was all she could scream and the people stood silently around her. That was the only time people had seen her shed tears._

_Jeanne would rub circles on Arturia's back as she wanted to let her friend know that she was always there for her. She held her tightly and comforted her as Arturia sobbed into the other's chest._

There was a light tap on her right shoulder and she shook awake. Her eyes fluttered open as the tears that weld in the corner of her eyes fell from their place.

"Are you feeling alright?" He was concerned once he saw the sadness in her eyes. "Is everything alright?"

"Hm… yeah." Arturia nodded and noted that there was no one else in the room other than her and the man before her. She had wondered why the arrogant blonde male that always sat beside her had not woken her up, but she recalled that he was on a field trip that day.

"Do you need something?" He questioned, he was kneeling in front of her desk, watching her with a little sorrow. "Miss d'Arc will be here shortly, I informed her teacher for her to come here, and he said it would take her a while because she needed to finish off an assignment."

Arturia wiped the tears away from her eyes, she blushed upon noticing that she was actually crying because she never did that in front of anyone, save for that one time. "Oh, okay." She mumbled.

There was a deafening silence in the room and the tears began to drop from her eyes, she did not make a single sound, but the tears just slipped down her soft cheeks. Her hand flew to cover her face for she did not want the teacher to see her. She did not want the world to see how weak she really was.

Diarmuid turned away and kept the silence, he knew she did not want anyone to see her, and he surely agreed with her sorrow, but he wished to know what it was that was breaking her heart apart. They did not speak, and he tried his best to keep his lips shut. His mind always trying to force him to ask what it was that was troubling her so greatly.

There was a light knock on the door and Jeanne entered. As soon as Arturia saw the blue-eyed girl, she ran to her and hugged her tightly, which had caught Jeanne off-guard and a little shocked. Nevertheless, Jeanne wrapped her arms around her friend and tried to comfort the crying girl, this was nothing like Arturia; she was a strong girl, not this. She rubbed circles on her back and held her tightly, assuring her that she was there for her; just like she had on that depressing day.

The teacher stood and passed them by as he collected his things and made his way out of the room, to let the young ladies have a private moment, so that Arturia could recover.

He was truly confused, but he was not going to push his border either way; he would not ask questions or get himself involved. It was not his place and he did not want to cross the line once again.


	9. What The Hell Did I Do?

The tests were passed about as the students sighed in defeat or squealed in happiness. At first, Arturia had told herself that she would not care for the mark that would be on the right corner of the test paper, but she lied to herself. Upon seeing the test score, she was frozen.

"Hey, what did you get?" Gilgamesh asked as he leaned towards her to view the mark.

"None of your business." She hissed as she folded the corner of the paper so he could not view the fifty-seven percent she had acquired. She had only gotten forty marks out of the seventy; what was this outrage? "Can you stop leaning on me?" Her voice was harsh towards the male and he grumbled.

"You are going to have to get used to it because we are going out." He stated matter-of-fact-ly with a smirk on his lips.

"We are not, now get the fuck off of me." Gilgamesh was a little surprised to hear the swear word, but not as much as the young teacher was.

"Arturia; see me after class. There are no swear words in this classroom." This was not the first time she had said something rude, and he sure knew it would not be the last.

"But Sir –"

"No, see me after class." Why did he always have to pick on her? Everything she did in his eyes was wrong, and she was truly getting upset because she hated it. Always calling her to stay after class. Giving her horrible marks on the test, and somehow hoping for her to do better.

"You shouldn't direct such words to you boyfriend." The red-eyed male laughed after she had gotten a detention.

"I am not your girlfriend!" She hissed one last time before the teacher hushed both of them as he began the new lesson.

"Sir, do I really need this detention, can you not wait until I accumulate more crude behaviour and give me a huge detention?" Her green eyes _almost_ pleaded.

"I'm sorry, did I hear that correctly?" His eyebrow was lifted as a look of disbelief conquered his face.

"Sir, I don't want to be here." She was rather blunt and he let out a chuckle.

"I know, but rules are rules, and you must follow them. If people did not follow the rules; how messed up would humanity be by now?"

"But everyone is home now, and Jeanne couldn't come to pick me up because she had club activities. There are people having fun, and I am stuck here because of Gilgamesh."

"I need to ask you something." He spoke, ignoring her comment. "I know why you were crying yesterday." His voice was soft when he had said the words.

Her eyes grew wide and she stopped herself from saying something bad.

"As you already know, you mark dropped by six percent, so now you are at a seventy eight. I was concerned about your mark, and thus I made a call home."

"You have no right." She seemed to warn him.

"I do. You father seems like a good man-"

"He is."

"We talked for a while. Maybe twenty minutes or so; he was truly concerned about you and your mark. You were one of my best students and it hurts to see your mark drop like that. He told me what happened; and I just want to say that-"

"Have I not told you that my life is not your business?" She was tired of him now.

"I am not your enemy, Pendragon; I am your teacher. _Your friend_." He spoke.

"A teacher is not-"

"I lived in Ireland. It was a surprise to me when I found out that I was adopted. I remember I felt betrayed by both my adoptive father and my real father. I never knew my mother and I never had a proper father figure, and I guess that was why I wanted to become a teacher. To be the person that pushes my students to be the best they can be. I am very sorry, I am so sorry about what happened. I want you to know… I want you to know that if you ever need someone… if you ever need _anyone, I_ will be there for you. You might think that it is awkward, since I am a teacher and all, b-"

"Thank you, Diarmuid." Her features softened as her heart seemed to warm up. "I guess it is good to have someone other than Jeanne knowing… It feels as if the burden is starting to lift off." Arturia chuckled. She truly felt somewhat glad that he knew. Secretly, she had nothing against Diarmuid, but she did not want him to treat her any differently than before, after knowing of her mother's death.

At first, he was caught off-guard when she had said his first name. He looked at her skeptically and she stood from her seat.

"Well, since we are friends now, I have to call you Diarmuid. Or maybe Dia is better, what do you think?" She asked as she sat on his desk, her voice had a little tint of joy and playfulness. She was glad to make another friend, because she was already pushing Gawain and Lancelot away.

"Sir would work better." He blinked, and tried to shoo her off the desk, but she would not budge.

"Dia it is." She smirked and got off the desk. "But you must keep calling me Pendragon, but Dragon works too; 'cause it's totally bad-ass." She walked to the door, her tone still indifferent.

"Not so fast, your detention is still not done, young lady. Where do you think you are going?"

"We're friends, friends don't give detention to other friends, Dia. Plus: I need to get going."

"No, you need to stay put, now go back to your seat. I still have to teach you what you did wrong on your test. Being 'friends' does not mean I will stop treating you like a student." He crossed his arms in front of himself as the young lady returned to the place she was sitting prior to having stood up; his desk.

"May I burn my test paper?" She sulked, remembering the mark that she had on that dreaded corner.

"Haha, no. You must learn from your mistakes." He deadpanned.

"Ugh," She groaned, "please; I don't like my mark."

He played with dry erase marker for a little while, looking upon her, "That is why I'm here to help you." He smiled at her.

Arturia grunted and proceeded to taking her hair out of the ponytail it was currently held in. She recalled that he had said he liked it down; she thought that she was possibly able to convince him to not count her mark. "Can I re-do the test?" She asked.

"No, it's not fair to the rest of the class." He spoke, not paying attention to her as he was looking over the questions of the homework. "Plus, you are not supposed to be talking during your detention."

"But if it's the teacher there is an exception right?" She laughed.

"No exceptions." His voice was still kind and then she thought for a little while.

"May you please not tell anyone about it? I don't want to be treated any differently for what has happened. I hate it when people pity me." She mumbled lightly.

He stood from his chair and took his place in front of her. "I promise that I won't." He looked into her green orbs. "A man that does not keep his word, is not a trustworthy man, neither is he a real man. And so, you can count on me."

Arturia smiled brightly and nodded. "I do. So you best not disappoint." She reached up to ruffle his hair. Surprisingly, his ebony black hair –that seemed to absorb all the light –was soft and silky.

Diarmuid blushed and looked down and away from her, still feeling her hand on his head.

"Despite girls' boasting, I'm the only one that has seen you like this, huh?" She giggled, referring to his coloured cheeks.

"Boasting?" He was puzzled when she had said that, the blush still dusting his cheeks.

"'_But I and Sir have' _or_ 'Well, I and sir'_. Everyone believes they're only lies made up by the girls because they just seem so infatuated with you. Plus, I don't think you're the kind to start things with a student." She seemed to have forgotten the near kiss they shared, or maybe she did but she pushed it aside because he did look like a good man.

"I can assure you, I have not done anything with a student." He was a shade darker now, only imagining of what the girls would have said.

"Good." Her hand was still perched on his head and she entangled it in his black tresses, bringing him closer.

"Pendra-" His voice was muffled as she connected their lips.

It was a short kiss and nothing had really happened. Their lips only brushed against each other's as she stole the small peck.

"Now you have." She smirked and ran off, leaving the male a blushing mess.

He was speechless, his mouth was wide open so that he could call the teenager back, but no words left his lips. He had begun to cough and he could not completely comprehend what had just occurred.

'_What the hell did I do?_' It was the million dollar question at the moment, that was what she thought at least. Her cheeks were a dark red and she tried to cover her mouth. _What on earth was she thinking?_


	10. Strictly Professional

It had been three days and Arturia had not even dared made eye contact with the teacher, of which really irritated Jeanne.

"I mean, do you really like him?" Jeanne used her right hand to emphasize her confusion.

"I thought I told you that we would never talk about it." Arturia grumbled as she stared at the pizza. "I'm not hungry." She pushed it away and remained looking at the food.

"Okay, I really need to know if you like him because if you do; I support you. But! If you don't then you really need to stop this _'I don't give two darns'_ then go and kiss him." She huffed loudly and crossed her arms.

"I-I don't know. Okay can we-"

"Arturia! Be strong and face your problems; do you like him or not?"

"He's a good person and, nice?"

"But do you like him?"

"Of course she likes me. We're going to get married one day." Gilgamesh stated as if it was obvious while he took a seat next to the green-eyed girl.

"Get over yourself, Gilgamesh, I don't like you, and frankly I never will." She hissed loudly.

"Then who is it that you like?" He inquired, threat lingering in his every word.

"No one." She blinked, and he immediately turned to Jeanne, who he knew wouldn't lie.

"Who is it Jeanne?" Gilgamesh asked.

"I don't know if she likes him because she won't tell me." Jeanne almost shook. She didn't like being put in those kinds of positions.

"Who?"

"I-I… Look at the time, I must be off." She stood from the cafeteria table and shoved Arturia's pizza in her mouth so she needn't speak.

"I'll go with you." Arturia stood but as she turned to leave, she was stopped by Gilgamesh.

His hand held her wrist securely and he shot her a glare so that she would not leave.

"Fine," She growled, "You can go ahead, Jeanne." And with a simple nod, Jeanne left quickly, as to avoid Gilgamesh altogether.

There was silence for a long while until Gilgamesh smiled and looked up at her. "So I'm guessing it's Ua? Hm?" He smirked.

Arturia hadn't intended to look so surprised, but her eyes had grown in size and her jaw had slightly dropped, making Gilgamesh laugh for his accusations were right on point.

"A teacher?" She scoffed as if to brush it off.

"There are plenty of girls that are head over heels for him, so why not you included?"

"What Ua and I have is strictly professional."

"Is it really? If I do find out that it isn't… Well, I'm guessing you know what that means." He held a smug smile on his features.

"Good luck with that, because it isn't going to happen." Venom leaked in her words as she turned to leave once more.

"I only hope you're correct. Oh, and tell Gawain I send my regards." The last part did not sound so egotistical, rather more selfless of which made her concerned.

"What? Why?" Her head shot towards the blond as her heart began skipping beats in an eager manner.

"Haven't you heard? His parents divorced. His mother left him." It was as if on cue, she left the male and went on search for her friend.

Arturia ran about the school hallways, eagerly looking for her friend. It had been a while since they talked but she wanted to be there for him, unlike how he had not. She did care about her friends, but ever since her mother died it was true that she had distanced herself from her friends, keeping all her feelings bottled up in some sort of jar where no one could see them.

She reached his locker but he was nowhere to be seen. It was only necessary to wait until her friend arrived. And so she sat in front of it, skipping both third and fourth, awaiting his arrival.

"Pendragon?" She looked up at the sound of her name, quickly standing and locking eyes with the male. "Woah, what's wrong?" Gawain was taken aback by the look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled.

"For what?" He awkwardly looked upon her. It had been a while since they spoke.

She laughed awkwardly, also feeling the same pressure. "Ah, yeah, sorry. I heard… Sorry that I haven't been such a good friend. There has just been a lot happening and I just want to say that I'm here for you."

"Here for me? What do you mean?"

"I heard about what happened. I am so sorry."

"What happened?"

"Your parents?" She furrowed her brows for she was confused.

Gawain sighed and nodded. "Oh that." He rolled his eyes. "It was a rumour going around. Don't worry, people just think that because someone spread it." He laughed.

Arturia still looked at him with a confused expression. "What?"

"And I'm sorry for not being there when you needed me the most. It's nice to see that you will stand by my side, even when I won't be there for you." The brunet rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's what friends do, right?" She nodded.

Gawain smiled at her a nodded. "So, am I a bad friend?"

"Pendragon? Did you skip my class? Sneaking out with your boyfriend is no exception to skip my class; detention." It just so happened that Diarmuid was walking past.

"She is not my girlfriend, Sir, she is a friend." Gawain blushed as he opened his locker.

"I was only teasing." The teacher chuckled once he saw that Arturia became irritated. "But, it is time for Arturia to go to detention, so I must steal her from you."

"There was a reason to why I skipped." She crossed her arms.

"There might be, but a truancy is truancy, now report to my maths class for detention. Off you go, I will be there shortly. I only have to finish off some paperwork." Diarmuid finished before patting her on the head lightly with his clipboard and heading off to the mathematics department office.

Gawain and Arturia watched him leave and her friend laughed. "Getting into trouble again, huh?"

"It was only because I was waiting for you." She spoke.

"Are you still fencing?" He remembered that they met through the familiar extracurricular activity.

Arturia nodded and sighed. "Ah, yes, I still do. It's one of the only things that I've kept since… Okay. I have to go to detention."

Gawain nodded and waved. "Alright, bye. See you around, maybe we could have a brawl later?"

"I would appreciate it." She gave a small smile, changing her cold demeanour slightly. Arturia then made her way back to the maths class, only hoping that the detention wouldn't take too long.


	11. Height

**¬Author's Note¬**

**HAHAHHAHA sorry guys for my failure... I have been informed by Mirakura that Gawain is blond... Sorry guys! I am so so so sorry. Forgive me!**

**Anyways, you all like the cover page, I know it's bad. I tried real hard... but it did turn out bad, huh? Well it was kinda my first time to actually draw on a tablet...**

**I hope you guys enjoy it, it's more of a filler chapter... but enjoy either way.**

**Sincerely,**

**Ms. Atomic Bomb,**

**I apologize for any errors, I was not able to look over it.**

* * *

Her dark green bag was dropped on top of her desk and she took out her motorcycle keys from her blazer pocket. Spinning the object around her finger, she liked to listen to the sound of the keys clashing against one another. Walking back and forth at the front of the class room, she stopped by his desk every now and again. Was he neat? Or messy? Just by looking at his desk she could not possibly tell. Some piles were neat and tidy, as others were scattered about the desk. Her ivory hand glided a top the papers. She would softly pushed aside papers to view the ones under. Tests upon tests upon tests, it might have been his ninth grade class, for the tests look rather simple.

The corner of a neon green sticky note caught her attention and causing her to lift the papers, which lay upon it, up. Her green eyes scanned the small squared sheet and she read it.

_Remember to buy the ticket_, it read.

"What are you doing?" The familiar voice came from the doorway and she held the sticky note up as she turned to him.

"What does this mean?" She tilted her head to her right as she watched the teacher approach her.

He squinted as he lowered his head in order to see the paper. "Ah, my ticket to Ireland. I want to visit my father."

"Adoptive?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," he gave a nod, "I haven't seen him in a long while."

"What about your paternal father?"

"_It is not your business,_ if I recall correctly those are your exact words, right?" He smirked, the beauty mark under his right eye.

Arturia rolled her eyes. "How mature."

"I will see when I arrive, but I don't plan on doing so as of now." He answered her question with a slight chuckle.

The young student nodded and put the sticky note back on the desk, on top of a random test paper, "When do you plan on leaving?" She raised her eyebrow, even if she was not looking at him for her eyes remained skimming over papers on the desk.

"Not until next year," He watched as he head spun gently to view him, "so you needn't worry about not seeing your favourite teacher." He winked.

"Ha-ha," She sang nonchalantly, "As if I'd care."

"Is that why you kissed me the other day?" He felt weird saying it out loud even if his voice was rather hushed.

Her green eyes grew wide and she felt her cheeks heat up. "T-that was not a kiss." She regretted talking for it had come as a stutter.

"Does Miss Pendragon like me?" Now, Diarmuid was being different than he had on that day. He was a little bit _too_ cocky.

Her eyes turned to slits and she shook her head. "You wish."

His hand landed upon her head and he chuckled. "I was only teasing." He spoke and ruffled her hair.

Arturia took his hand off her head and lowered it slowly as she grumbled. "No touchy." She commanded.

"Yes, we don't want people to thinking things." He moved as he cleaned up his desk.

"Sir," her voice was projected louder than she expected.

"Hm?" Diarmuid's eyes remained on the paper.

"Do you like me?" She asked.

He scoffed and chuckled. "I like all my students, Pendragon."

"You know what I mean." Her foot tapped impatiently.

"Ah," He lifted two sheets of paper and turned to her, handing them over, "The lesson you missed."

"Are you ignoring my question?" She took the sheets from his hand.

A blush dusted his cheeks again and he averted his gaze from hers. "I was surprised when you kissed me because, you weren't acting like your normal self. It… it didn't seem like you, and it honestly caught me off-guard. Other than the fact that you're my student, you know."

"You act as if you know who I am…"

"I know all I need to know." He smirked. "How you act in front of your friends and in my class. I also know what kind of student you are and how you used to be."

"Then you really need to get to know me, how about we start with that?"

"I also have the sheet you –and the rest of the class –filled out in the beginning of the semester. You have your hobbies and–"

"That's meaningless." She laughed at how cutely he had explained it. "People often lies on those. Like I did."

"I don't think we should get to know one another more than we already do. Only couples and friends do that; I am a teacher and you are my student."

"Exactly." She smirked. "You never seem to catch an invitation, do you?" She dropped the papers and threw her keys up in the air, so they would drop.

He flinched slightly at the sound of the keys dropping. Diarmuid looked at her with a rather confused look, but a blush on his cheeks. "What are you doing?" He thought it best to ask when she had brought a two-step ladder and placed it in front of him. Since he shared the class room with another teacher, who was rather short and needed said step ladder to reach the top shelf of the closet.

"How tall are you?" She asked.

"Why do you want to know?" He was still confused.

"I predict six feet. Am I right?" She spoke as she took one step unto the ladder.

"You are correct, but what are you doing?"

"Checking how tall I have to get." Noting that she was too short, she took the last step, where she was his height.

"I don't understand…"

"This is how tall I need to be to kiss you again." Her tone was rather phlegmatic, causing him even more confusion.

"So why did you throw your keys?"

"Ah, that… I simply needed your attention." Her shoulders raised in a shrug as she got down from the step ladder and put it back in its place.

He watched her pick up the keys and papers from the floor, the he really thought about what she had said. "Arturia…" He began.

"Yes?" She looked up at him.

"If you plan on growing a foot in order to kiss me, I am very sorry to break it to you but it won't happen."

"Thank you, but if I'm not growing, you're going to have to shrink."

"Oh, really?"


	12. It's a No

**¬Author's note¬**

**Hey guys, sorry for the late update... I was having lots of trouble with even starting this chapter, but my friend and brother helped me out. You might think it moves fast, but if nothing happens, this story is going nowhere... Again I'm sorry if there are any mistakes; hopefully not. But enjoy¬!**

**Sincerely,**

**Ms. AtomicBomb**

***Check if you can spot the pun ;)***

* * *

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really." She nodded.

"Well, that is going to be even harder, but does that mean that I have to shrink about this much?" He came to eye-level with her.

"Yes it does." Arturia kept her eyes locked on his.

"It won't be happening." He shook his head lightly. "So I'm guessing you're only teasing."

"I am not."

"Right. Okay, Arturia, good luck with that." He patted her head as he stood up straight.

She snarled and tugged on his tie, bringing him down back to her eye level, "Well, you're going to have to shrink." She murmured. Bringing his face closer, she whispered into his left ear. "Because, I think your curse has gotten to me, sir." Her lips skimmed his jaw as she pulled back.

He stiffened at the sound of her whispering voice, and blushed at her words. Once she had let go of his black neck tie, he had stumbled back in embarrassment and surprise. He tried to fix said tie but his fingers fumbled as he was having trouble doing so. He swallowed still trying to get the blush off his face; but it wasn't working.

"Well, you have to think of something, or else I will. Oh and you should possibly not give me too many detentions… you know, just so people don't start to suspect." She shrugged and sat on her desk.

He gulped and shook his head rapidly. "There is nothing happening between us, Miss Pendragon."

"And that is what you think." She shrugged as she played with the hem of her skirt.

He turned away and faced the board. "You can leave." He spoke in a somewhat shaky breath. "Your det-tention's over." He loosened his tie as he tried to speak.

"I think that I'm starting to like detention. Maybe I could stay longer…"

"No. I have to get going, and so do you." He turned back to fix the tests that were scattered over his desk, and with that he collected them quickly and turned to leave.

"Consider my 'confession'," She rolled her eyes at the word, "an invitation; you can decline or accept… I will not judge you based on what you choose; but do think about it for a long while, okay?" Her tone was not flirty or playful, it was as serious as it always was, and he frankly did not want to think about it.

"Pendragon, I decline."

"I told you to think about it. That was not thinking about it. Now please, go and do that. I will accept your answer by the end of the week."

He took a deep breath and left the room, only to bump into someone. "I-I'm sorry." He mumbled as he noticed it was Jeanne.

"It's alright." She smiled softly up at him. "Is Arturia with you?"

"No!" He retorted. "I mean, she is in the classroom. Not with me. In the class."

"O-Okay." The young girl nodded giving him a confused look before she entered the classroom.

The male walked down the hall and made his way to his office, where he collected his coat and car keys, so that he could get the hell out of the school. There were butterflies in his stomach and he tried to ignore the chills that constantly ran down his spine and got to him.

Starting the car was the hard part, but after he held the steering wheel for a little while, he was able to calm down and drive home.

He stumbled into his house and slowly made his way to the kitchen. He needed to look over his lesson plan and mark some grade nine tests that he had started marking that day. Before he would begin marking, he would pour himself a small glass of wine to clear his mind, and maybe have a slice of pie, or the _whole_ pie. Yes, that was what he was going to do. That was an easy way of clearing his mind.

After doing so, he sat down at his desk and placed the tests papers beside the pie. His hand held the pen loosely and he looked over papers, but as he did so a little thought leaked into his mind and he couldn't help but drop the pen.

As he closed his eyes, her word invaded his mind. _Because I think your curse has gotten to me, sir._ It was digging into his brain, trying to find a place to remain. _I will accept your answer by the end of the week._ His answer was no. It was plain and simple; **no**. _No, no, no, no, no, no. _

"Arturia, no. I do –damn," He breathed, "Pendragon, my answer is no. **No… not that**." He barked at himself. "You are being ridiculous, Pendragon. You know that my answer is no." That was how he was going to tell her, but deep down; maybe in his heart, or in the back of his mind, he did not want to say that.

Stabbing the pie and shoving a piece of it in his mouth, he ran a hand through his hair roughly. What was he going to do with her? She was trouble, and that was what he wished to avoid. He recalled the sound of her whispering voice, and how she had purposely run her lips across his jawline…_ Okay! That is it!_ He screamed in his mind and downed the wine, not even enjoying the taste of the liquid.

He had always said that drinking was not to get drunk, it was to enjoy the pleasures that wine had to offer; taste. But it seemed as if his repeated statement had flown out the window that evening, and he ended up eating the entire pie and drinking an entire bottle of wine. Hell, was tomorrow going to be a big pain in the ass.

The last thing he recalled was thinking about the decision, a 'yes' lingering in his thoughts, and then… his mind was a complete blur.


	13. Hangover, Sleep and More Slee-Wait What?

**¬Author's Note¬**

**Hey guys, so ughhhh, this story is getting hard to write, but will make it up to you; alright! Thank you for the reviews! You guys are awesome! And I thank you for the feedback! I need it so thanks guys! It's really helping me out on how to portray the characters and how to work with situations. Well thank you, and I will try to fix Saber up; since she just crashed down to the depths of oblivion because I could not convey her character properly. Now! I will possibly go back and fix up the story; if I am not feeling too lazy, because i really messed up this one. I'm so so so sorry, okay? Forgive me, guys! I just don't know what to do now... It's hard for me to write Saber in a modern setting cause I really want her holding a sword! Which reminds me; I will be posting up a story about Diarturia; this one will be much better since it will take place in the middle ages... and she can hold the sword, and there will be awesome fights and stuff, but that's n a while cause it's taking me time to write the sword fighting scenes...**

**Anyways, enjoy this chapter and the new character that it introduced! **

**Sincerely,**

**Ms. AtomicBomb**

* * *

There were students who waited, and others who had left after twenty minutes had passed. According to the unwritten rule, if a teacher did not appear in the first twenty minutes of class, a student could not attend class and it would not be a skip; but that was something the students made up. But either way, there were only a few students left in the class, including Jeanne.

When Diarmuid arrived, the remaining students sat up straight watched him drag himself in. His right hand remained covering his eyes as he ordered a student to close the blinds as he took up turning off the lights himself.

"Don't talk, and copy some overhead notes." He mumbled as he turned on the apparatus.

The students did as asked and they did not make a single sound as he took an Advil and drank from a water bottle on his desk. It was evident that he had not had a great morning or even a good evening the night before; he looked tired and nauseated. It was the fact that he was eating pastries that hit Jeanne; he was hung over.

Nothing happened during the entirety of the class, only copying notes and silence. As the people filed out of class, Jeanne made sure to have a word with the teacher. "Sir, are you feeling well?" She asked, her eyebrow raising as he lifted his head to view her.

"No, and you must be getting to class, if I am correct?" His words were a little softly spoken.

"I hope you get better, take a nap, alright?"

"Yes, I will." He nodded up at her and watched as she too returned a nod and left the room.

If Arturia did tell her, Jeanne would have known by then and acted differently towards her teacher; maybe a glare or something of the sort. Yet, she was acting as usual; always caring for the people around her and watching out for them. He groaned as his grade nine class had filed in, girls asking him questions and boys yelling to one another.

His day continued with assigning silent work and countless overheads, so that the children would not cause him an even stronger headache, than the one he already had. During his free period, he did as Jeanne had asked; he took a long nap, one long enough to arrive late to yet another class. It was only a few minutes late, not like the one in the morning, but the students were a little upset.

"Sorry, I woke up on the wrong side of bed." He murmured as he entered the room, hoping that would be a sufficient enough explanation all by itself. The teenagers did not speak as the male pulled out an overhead not and placed it on the machine, only to repeat what he had done the previous periods. "Keep silent, and copy this down." And they obeyed him so.

He was finally able to mark the tests, which relived him because he finally had accomplished something after a day of nonsense. He tried not to look around the classroom because he knew that it would only cause trouble. He gaze would make him feel uncomfortable, he already knew.

"Sir, I have a question." He rolled his eyes at that; he just wasn't liking the day.

"Hmm?" He lifted his head and made eye contact with a young girl; Gráinne. Not only had he needed to deal with Arturia, who actually was not _that_ bad, but Gráinne was getting quite annoying. It was actually getting him irritated, and he usually did not get like that. It took him a rather long time to get annoyed, but man was she the exception.

"I have a question about the homework." She stood from the seat and walked to his desk, where she set her book down, and leaned rather close to the male, showing him her struggles with the question. "I have no idea how you get seven and zero. I am _totally_ lost."

"Okay, so this one is quite simple. You just have to look at the transformations and…" He continued to explain but she only inched closer, causing him to do the inverse; move away.

"Oh! I see." She smiled. "Thanks, sir, I finally understand." He head rapidly nodded.

"Good, now, if you do not mind…" He trailed as he pointed at the pile of papers in front of him, seeing that her face seemed uninterested in what he said. "I'm marking tests."

"Oh, right, right, sorry." She giggled and walked away, not forgetting to make her hips sway that extra inch.

His head lowered to continue marking the tests that he hoped to return the following day, but at the way the day was going, he thought it was not possible, for the headache was returning.

_Ring_

That was it! It was the most satisfying sound he had ever heard, the last bell signalling the end of the school day. A wave of relief washed over him and he couldn't help but sigh. His black hair became even messier when he dropped his head on the desk and the students filed out. He would take the bus, for he was smart and left his car parked in his driveway that morning, and sleep once he arrived home; but there were other plans in store for him.

Small hands landed on his shoulders, it had frightened him, but what surprised him even more was that whoever had done it, was now messaging the tense muscles at the junction between his shoulders and neck. If he recalled biology correctly it was the trapezius, but that had little to no relevance at the given situation.

"Stop!" He screamed and jumped from his seat. "Look, A –Oh." His jaw almost dropped, not that he was surprised, but it was because he had almost blurted out a student's name. "Gráinne…"

"What's wrong, sir? I saw that you were troubled so I wanted to help you out." She shrugged.

Diarmuid gulped and looked away from the young female. "No. You cannot just do that." He mumbled. "That's not allowed."

"Why not sir?"

"You know why, now please head home." He signalled to the door.

"Sir, I can make you feel better." He coughed at the sound of those words. "People get paid to massage, think of it as a job."

"N-no. Now if you would please, the door is where it always is."

"Sir…"

"No. I'll walk you to the door." And as he went to do so, he was stopped by the girl pulling him back so that he could sit down again. "Sir, sit and relax." She whispered.

"Gráinne, stop." He tried to get up from the chair but she did not allow it. And without a single warning she was messaging his shoulders again. "Gráinne, stop." Again he was stopped.

"Sir, _relax_." She continued the message and he couldn't help but gasp. "You're too tense, how do expect to teach classes like that?" Her tone was now light and giggly.

"Gráinne, stop." He hadn't intended on it, but his voice came out as a whimper. This was his fault. If it weren't for him, these young girls and women would not be throwing themselves at him. And as he felt more relaxed and inched into the message he thought; he would stop being a teacher and then work from home; where nobody could see him and he needn't worry about women looking his way.


	14. Maybe It's Getting Difficult

**¬Author's Note¬**

**Hey, sorry about my late updates ughhh... I suck, I'm so sorry, but on the bright side did you guys see the new episode of Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Work; our favourite girl is back! Oh Yeah! It was so good, I wanted to cry. Except Lancer couldn't join her... But at least there's a new Archer; who seems super awesome and not as mean as Gilgamesh...**

**Anyways, please enjoy and I hope there are no grammatical mistakes, if so; please forgive me!**

**Sincerely,**

**Ms. AtomicBomb**

* * *

"Did you forget we had a meeting?" Kayneth hissed as Diarmuid walked into the math office. He always arranged meaningless meetings and since he was head of the department, everyone had to blindly agree. They were always about class averages and lesson plans, which everyone found sometimes quite stupid.

"I got caught up in the classroom." He stated, making sure not to sound rude to the male before him.

"Has another student confessed her _undying love_ for you?"

Diarmuid tried hard not to frown, he bit the inside of his bottom lip as he forced a smile. "Grade nine math tests; I was marking."

Kayneth rolled his blue orbs and ordered the young teacher to sit down, and once he did, the meeting began. Not only did Diarmuid hate the meetings because they were pointless, but he did not like them because of Sola-Ui. Man was she troublesome. Besides the fact that she was already married to Kayneth, she was a bit too annoying. The Irishman was loyal and he did not want to anger the head of the office, and thus he tried to ignore the fellow teacher to the best of his abilities, but he knew that Kayneth simply hated him.

"I want to invite you over for dinner." Sola-Ui was quick to speak once the meeting had concluded (a little later than expected).

Diarmuid smiled as he gulped and shook his head. "I mustn't; there are tests that I need to finish marking."

Her smile faltered for a little bit a she regained courage to speak. "The tests can wait one more day."

"They've already been delayed for too long, miss, I must hand them back tomorrow."

"But I" –she was stopped dead short by her husband.

"Sola, Diarmuid must finish those tests, and we must be getting home now."

"Oh, okay." Her smile dropped and she mustered a frown, waving Diarmuid goodbye.

Once he had returned the gesture, the turned on his heel and went his way towards the classroom in order to pick up his belongings so that he could leave, that was after he had gone to his office and picked up his car keys.

Upon entering the classroom, he rubbed his temples as to try to soothe his oncoming headache.

"So it's finally over?" His eyes widened as he noticed that the student was still in the class, sitting on top of his desk. "I was wondering when it would end."

"What are you still doing here, Gráinne?" He stood still by the door.

"I packed your things, are you feeling better?" She inquired, her brown eyebrow raising slightly as she swung her feet.

He lifted his hand to rub the back of his neck as he remained close to the door. "It is time for you to leave. Your parents are probably wondering where you are; and it's getting rather late."

"My parents don't mind." Her shoulder's raised in a shrug as her hair listed along with them.

"I'm sure they do, now please hurry along."

"They don't come home till late in the evening, they don't know."

"But if they knew, they would rather have you home at this hour, the public is scary at this time of day for a young girl."

"That's true, so maybe you could drive me home." Her innocent-like smile grew, although he knew she was not so innocent.

"Absolutely not." It was rather fast when he shot her down, a frown almost –_almost –_formed on her lips, but she brushed it off, it was only a natural reaction of his.

"Sir, you're no fun." Her teasing tone made him furrow his brows in sadness. "I was thinking to have just a little-teeny-weeny bit of fun before I leave, but you are still feeling a bit grumpy." In one quick and swift movement, she had gotten down from the desk.

He tried to supress the sudden blush that tainted his cheeks as he averted his gaze from hers. But, even though he clearly felt uncomfortable, she closed the space between the step-by-step. Once she was close enough to touch him, she could see that he tried to take a step back, but the door stopped him.

"Gráinne, please go home." He urged, only wishing that she would listen to him.

"All you do is worry." She smiled up at him, a little deviously. "Relax." The word slipped out of her mouth once again, making him blush even deeper because he had remembered of the previous events.

"I don't think I can exactly relax if you're insinuating things that are actually illegal." The sound of her shoes gently hitting the floor made him more afraid by the second, which made him blurt out the sentence in anxiety.

"Sir, it's not if no one finds out." Now she was too close for comfort, her black orbs eyeing him carefully.

"I-I best be going." His throat ached as he gulped, a shiver running down his spine once he had softly pushed her aside.

"I will make you fall for me, Mister Ua, I really will, because I'm in love with you." He admired her for the confidence she had, but he did not agree with what she said. There was no way on earth that she was going to do so. As he had said, it was not possible, and it would not be for many years.

"Do not make this complicated." He spoke, his back to her, hoping she would not catch the nervousness in his voice.

"You read my mind." The smirk she held on her features was evident on the tone of her voice, he did not even need to look at her to see it.

He took a deep sigh and collected his bag, wishing to quickly leave the room. After he had nodded her way as a sort of good-bye, he went to open the door.

"See you tomorrow." Gráinne smiled brightly up at him as he left the room, hoping that he'd turn around once again.


	15. I Really Need to Grow

Her face was focused on the phone in her hands, Jeanne had said she would call but it had been an entire day and she had not said a single thing. The poor girl wanted to know where her friend was, and she felt worried for she had not heard a single word. She had not seen her during their break time and even after school.

The phone danced like a hot potato in her hands as it rang and she quickly went to answer it, putting her motorbike on the neutral setting. "Hello." Her voice made it seem as she was not expecting the call for fear that it was not her friend.

"Hey, sorry, I had no signal for a while." The delicate voice came through the phone.

"Thank God, I was so worried, how have you been, has everything been alright? I haven't heard from you for an entire day, I was getting worried you were sick or something…"

"Ah yes, I woke up a bit late and had things to finish during lunch and after school I had a club meeting; it was for food drive that's coming up."

"Oh, that's right... It is going to be thanksgiving soon… How was the meeting?"

"It was good, just some quick reminders of people that need to collect the items from classes and stuff; it was more for organization." The other spoke calmly.

"Okay, then we are still meeting up, right?" Arturia smiled.

"I promise I'll be at your place in an hour." With that the two girls bid a small farewell and Arturia proceeded to put her phone away and turned the notch on her motorcycle to finalize the parking.

She entered the dollar store and walked about, finally getting to the snack isle. She looked at the cookies and candies that lined the shelves. She would get some chocolate and some gummy worms, maybe chips if she was feeling up to them, what was it that Jeanne liked; Doritos? She also needed drinks… Sprite would do.

The chocolate was easy to get because it was about waist level. But the gummy worms were a different story, or even on a different story. Being five feet tall was a problem, both because there were times she could not reach things and because people were taller and she needed to be intimidating. She tried to reach it a couple of times but after thinking to stop embarrassing herself, she stopped. The chips seemed like a tempting offer at the time due to the given situation.

Glaring back up at the gummy worms, she sighed loudly, getting irritated already and thinking of where the Doritos could have been.

"Here." A person offered and brought down two packs of gummy worms.

Arturia's head wiped towards the figure and, rather than being mad as she would always be, she smiled being grateful for the person. "Thank" –She tilted her head to the right and furrowed her blond eyebrows, "You." Her voice was a little sharp that time around.

"Oh, Pendragon, you look rather pretty in that outfit." He laughed and turned to leave. "I should be off now."

"Yeah, you should be." She replied.

He turned around, lifting a blonde eyebrow in confusion. She walked up to him and glared up at him. "Thank for the gummies." She murmured up at him, her eyes still glaring as he had a cocky smile on his features.

Her green orbs looked away from him and she turned to leave, he looked at her and took a hold of her wrist before she left. "So are you going to have a party without me?" He smirked down at her, eyes glistening with some deviousness

"Not exactly a party, see you tomorrow. Remember that we are not exactly friends." She waved and watched as she shook her hand from his grasp. But he would not let her go, the smirk still plastered on his face that it somewhat irritated her.

"We are not friends, you're right; we're affianced."

"Gilgamesh." She grunted loudly. "Just let me get my Doritos."

"What kind of party is it if I am not invited?" He questioned.

"I said that it was not a party, only Jeanne is coming over." She rolled her eyes.

"It is, and I will be there."

"You are not invited."

"Not invited?" His eyebrows furrowed and he tried to look as pained as ever.

"I'm not going to fall for that, Gil, now let me get the damn chips."

"I'll go with you." He let his hand trail to hers and he dragged her over to the chips, passing the Doritos over to her.

She did not speak as he took her to the cashier, maybe he wasn't so bad. He had gotten the gummy worms for her after all, that meant there was some kind of niceness deep down in that narcissistic heart of his. Yet she rolled her eyes as he offered to pay, and she tried to push that thought to the back of her head.

"Well, I'll be at your place in a while." He said as he waved her goodbye and left her.

"Ugh, I told him not to come." She muttered under her breath as she started her motorcycle.

Sure enough, as Jeanne had promised, she was there in exactly an hour from when she had called. The young girl, entered with her backpack; ready for the sleepover they had been planning for a week now.

"We have an addition." Arturia lead Jeanne to the living room where a certain blonde male sat on the couch.

"Gilgamesh?" Jeanne's violet eyes grew and she almost gasped. What was he planning?


	16. What Kind of Sleepover is This?

"Are you going to sit or are you just going to stare at me like I'm some kind of bacteria under a microscope?" Gilgamesh scoffed as Jeanne softly shook her head. What was he doing here?

"Pardon me for my… manner-less greeting; Hello Gilgamesh…"

"Hello, Jeanne." He smirked as her face seemed a little too cold for her own good.

"Not to be rude, but I find it hard to believe that Artie invited you," She took a Dorito from the coffee table and brought it up to her lips. "Because it is a sleepover after all."

Gilgamesh leaned forward and rested his elbows upon his knees. "It shouldn't be too unbelievable, I am getting married to her."

"We'll see about that." Jeanne ate the chip as she crushed it in between her teeth with a little too much sound. She sat down on the opposite side of the couch and looked at the television, yet another horrible news headline was displayed across the screen. "What are we going to watch, Artie?" She looked up at the standing teenager, who looked upon the television.

"Gilgamesh wants to watch a scary movie."

"Oh heavens no! You know that I hate scary movies!" Jeanne sat up straight and grabbed the other girl's sleeve.

"We are watching it, and if you don't want to, then you can go ahead and leave." The blond male clucked as he stared at the Frenchie.

"Arturia, can we _please_ watch something else?" The violet-eyed female begged for she was truly afraid of scary things.

"I'm sorry, Jeanne," Arturia paused and took a deep breath, "we made a bet."

"A bet? You made a bet knowing that I don't like those kinds of movies? What's the bet of?" She felt hurt and betrayed that her friend would to that, but she reasoned that there had to be a good reason to it.

"That, Jeanne, is a secret." Gilgamesh laughed as Arturia led the two teenagers to the basement and inserted the movie into the DVD player.

Jeanne took a deep breath and smiled at him with a forceful smile, she would place on her headphones and try not to listen to the sounds of the movie. She tried to not look up at the screen by covering her view with one of the throw pillows that were on the small couch. She watched as the blonde and emotionless female sat next to her on the couch and grabbed the remote. Jeanne could say that on that day, the remote controller was the worst enemy she had ever encountered.

She wasn't paying attention to how far they were into the movie when Arturia abruptly stood and left the room, soon followed by Gilgamesh. "Why must they leave me alone?" Jeanne whined as she peaked at the movie for a little while before hiding her face back behind the pillow.

"What? Did you get scared? What a child." Gilgamesh laughed as he entered the living room where Arturia had taken a seat.

"Oh shut up, Gil. How about you get out of my house." Her voice had cracked at the end of the sentence and he took a deep sigh as he sat next to her.

He glanced at her and mumbled, "What's wrong?" Now, Arturia had never heard him speak like such, it was almost relaxing to not hear him be so arrogant. Maybe it was because he realized that she was truly hurt by what she saw, or because he wasn't so heartless and had the slightest bit of pity, but he sounded _almost_ sweet.

"Nothing."

"Clearly it's not 'nothing' since you left in the middle of the movie. Would you like to do something else? Did you not want to watch the movie?"

"It doesn't matter what I was thinking, if you want to watch it, go."

Gilgamesh took a sharp breath and held it for a while. "Show me your scars and I'll show you mine." He meant it metaphorically, not literally and she understood that, which is why she heaved and rolled her eyes. "I only think it's appropriate because we are going to get married." He deadpanned, and normal Gilgamesh was back, as if he had never left.

"Oh God." She grumbled as her green eyes circled in an annoyed manner.

"Are you going to tell me, _Artie_?" He teased the nickname that the other young lady had given her.

"No because you are so stupid."

"I meant what I said. Now you should tell me."

"I felt bad about making Jeanne watch the movie." Although she did, this was not what was troubling her, bur rather something else, it was her mother.

"Wouldn't that mean that you would wait for her? What is really troubling you?" He asked as he kept his gaze ahead of himself, not wanting Arturia to meet his gaze. "Was it the crash?"

"The crash?" She was surprised that he had known rather quickly, but she did not question it.

"My mother mentioned it..." Hes gasped a little bit, "I am so sorry."

"Now you're acting ridiculous. Only because you say 'mother' I'm not going to break into tears... H-how do you know?" She then realized that he had actually been aware of her situation.

"My mother mentioned it over dinner when she noticed that you were my classmate."

"Gossip, I see..."

"Arturia, my mother was not gossiping, she only informed me. Her intentions did not mean any harm and if you are offended then please forgive her." Gilgamesh did not like that she was acting so hostile towards him, and he only wanted to help her out for he knew she was hurting.

Arturia grumbled and rolled her eyes as the male pulled out his phone. "We were talking." She hissed as she slapped it out of his hands only to make it fall on the floor.

The blond male grunted as he bent down to reach the phone and pick it up from the floor, he was lucky that it wasn't the marble floors he possessed in his house, or else his phone's screen would be shattered.

"What's that on your neck?" It was a sudden question that made him jump and cover said area.

"What?" He pretended not to pay attention to what she had asked.

"_Show me your scars and I'll show you mine_, it was what you said, right? You know about me, now tell me what happened to your neck. It looks important." She stated nonchalantly.


	17. It's Not What You Think!

Her emotionless tone made him wince, she was a little too cold, and he really didn't like that about her. _T__hings aren't always perfect, _he thought to himself seeing that she did have major flaws in her personality. Biting his bottom lip, he stood from the floor and checked his phone to see if there were any imperfections, finding that there were none his red eyes met hers in a fraction of a second. There was a silence as he stepped a bit closer and looked down upon the seated female. "Are you sure you want to know?" His eyebrow rose.

"Yes, why else would I ask?" It seemed as if that day she had rolled her eyes one too many times, but she did it once more. "So what happened?"

"Do you want to see it?"

"I-"

She was cut off by the cocky male. "Ha, I see, Arturia does want me to strip." He winked at her. "We might be getting married, but you might want to refrain from drooling." And without any further warning -without giving her time to scoff -off came his white shirt. Lean muscles stretched as the shirt came over his head, muscles that Arturia averted her gaze from, but returned her attention to him because there was nothing to be embarrassed of, there was nothing that they were doing wrong. He turned so that his back could face her. There was a sort of injury from his neck to the tip of his left shoulder blade.

No sounds were made for another long while, until he turned towards her and gave a small smirk, obviously not meaning it, it was more of a tease if anything. "Ugly huh?" His shoulders rose in a shrug.

Words never once left her mouth for another long while.

"Was it that bad to traumatize you?" He laughed as he sat next to her, taking a deep sigh and letting his toned chest rise and fall. "I don't remember what exactly happened... I was a child when it happened... There was lot's of screaming and lights... that's all, that's all I ever remember." His voice remained cocky all the while and he did not have any sense of hurt. "I probably fell from a tree or something, it was nothing major, at least I don't think so. If it were, I would have already known by now." And yet another scoff.

She smiled at him and let out a small laugh. "A tree?" She knew that was not the entire truth, but it she wasn't going to question it.

"Yes, a tree, I really don't remember." He looked about. "God, you live in a pigsty. This house is so small and claustrophobic, how do you even live here?"

"It is not a pigsty, this house is quite clean," whenever she was bored she would either bake or clean, that was if she was not practicing her archery skills or fencing, "If you're going to criticize my house, then-"

"Leave? Not a chance, Arturia. I came here for a 'party' and this is no party. I'll have to call some people, bring food, and music. It can be done in less than an hour." He had a look of determination on his features as he went to dial up a number on his cellphone.

"But this is my house, and I did not ask my father if I could have a party, so I can't."

Gilgamesh rolled his eyes and put his cellphone down, smirking up at her. "Parties need to be great, and so do sleepovers. Now, this is the best chance you have."

"Best chance I have?" She raised an eyebrow.

"At getting popular, my dear. I can't have a girlfriend that gets into detention all the time, and has no parties. We must have a party." Man, was he being audacious!

"Pardon me, Gilgamesh? I'm not your girlfriend." She glared at him.

"Yes, you are. Now, Arturia, where would you like the stereo system?" He looked about the living room.

Her eyes doubled in size and she scoffed. "What? Make a party at your own place!"

He tilted his head and a spark ran across his red eyes. "Perfect. Since your house_ is_ too small -I don't even know how you live here," he repeated, "There will be a party at my place tomorrow. Be sure to come because I cannot have a party without my girlfriend. Oh and while you're there; no talking to boys." His voice had turned bitter when he reached the last sentence.

She opened her mouth to speak out against his command when he had taken a hold of her chin and smirked at her. "Ah ah ah," he brought her face closer, "no speaking against your boyfriend, you must behave."

"I am not you girlfriend."

"You entertain me," He laughed half-heartedly, "I very much think that you are _mine_."

"I am n-" She was silenced by his lips on her jaw line, it was not a lustful kiss or something that made her feel uneasy. It was an innocent kiss that happened to miss her cheek, or it might have been planned that way, she wasn't sure.

It was a gasp that made her head turn towards the direction of the sound. Her eyes had nearly doubled in size when she saw the middle aged man standing by the doorway. Without a second thought, she stood from the seat and opened her mouth to explain the scene. "Father, I-"

"I invited myself." Gilgamesh took action after seeing that Arturia seemed afraid.

Uther's head turned from the female to the young male and he blinked before turning his head back towards his daughter. "I thought you said that Jeanne was coming over. Who is this?" He inquired, expecting an answer from Arturia.

"I'm Gilgamesh." Arturia scolded him in her mind for he had still made no movement to place his shirt back on.

"I asked Arturia, not you, young man." Her father hissed.

"He's a classmate of mine... It's not what you think." She realized how wrong it might have looked when he had walked in on them.

Uther's head tilted to the right. "Then what is it?"

As if on cue, a loud scream was heard from the basement and a very scared Jeanne burst through the basement door. She was panting when she came across the sight, almost not catching Arturia's father by the door. She had mumbled something but no one heard her breathless mutter, she slowly walked closer to Uther and tried to smile at him, keeping him from looking at the other two teenagers. "Mister Pendragon; good evening." She bowed her head and he only stared at her.

She had given Gilgamesh enough time to put his shirt back on and convinced Uther to let him go.

"What was that? I come in expecting my daughter to be having a sleepover with her best friend, and instead I find her with a boy? Kissing while this young man is shirtless? What am I supposed to think?" His voice echoed in the room upon Jeanne's departure; he was embarrassed to have sent her home for the problem, but his daughter was now in trouble.

"Father, it wasn't anything of the sort. I don't even like Gilgamesh."

"You don't need to like someone to have a relationship with them," He sighed, "You're grounded." There was no point in fighting him, she only needed to obey.


	18. It's Not? Then What Is It?

**¬Author's Note¬**

**Hey guys, so how are you liking the story? Good? Bad? Well, I hope you like this chapter where things get heated! Yay? Yes yay! We finally start moving! **

**Thank you for reading up to the point and special Thanks to Shaaniqua and Mirakura for your reviews :) Don't worry this is not the last chapter ;)**

**Well, enjoy the chapter and I hope you are all doing well :)**

**Sincerely,**

**¬Ms. Atomic Bomb**

* * *

Her cellphone, her laptop, her motorcycle; all gone. Television; goodbye, Internet? Disconnected. It was not like she needed them anyways for she was in need of practicing her fencing and archery skills since they were getting a bit rusty nowadays. At the moment the hardest problem in her life was staying awake in her current mathematics class. Her eyelids felt heavy and if it weren't for Gilgamesh bothering her, she would have been soundly asleep.

"So, are you coming?" He whispered over to her, his eyes on where the teacher stood.

"No, you got me in trouble and now I am grounded. I can't do anything." She growled in return, if he hadn't invited himself to her house on his own accord, she would not be buried in this entire mess in the first place.

"Excuse me, Arturia, I did not get you in trouble. It was not my fault that you wanted me to take off my shirt." Now that was a bit too loud, loud enough for the teacher and a couple of students to hear the conversation between the two teenagers.

A blush crept on her cheeks as she became embarrassed. "Ah..." She was speechless as the class grew with some awkward silence and an Irish girl scoffed rather loudly. People would surely talk about it if she did not clear it up. "I was only asking what happened to your back; you were the one who started stripping and staining my innocence." She retorted. "Pervert." By now, the whole class was listening to the teenagers.

Gilgamesh's features hardened and he glared at her. "Don't you dare talk back to me." He hissed. "As my girlfriend you should know your place."

"I have already told you a million times that I am **not **your girlfriend."

"Alright, stop blabbering." The teacher stepped in. "You could talk about your relationship when class is over." He secretly thanked the heavens that she had found someone else and forgotten that it was the last day of the week.

"There is no relationship." Her eyes rolled and she crossed her arms under her chest.

From that moment, the class went back to the actual lesson and the incident was looked over, but of course the students would gossip about it later on in the day, and by the beginning of next week it would probably have been twisted into a story that she slept with Gilgamesh, she knew how gossip worked.

"You are still coming to my party, mongrel. Now come along." He took her hand and dragged her out of the classroom once the bell had rung.

"I'm still grounded. I can't go." She hissed once they had reached her locker.

"Are you serious? You're coming whether you like it or not. I made the party for you, so now you're coming."

"I never asked you to make the party for me."

"Come. It starts at seven; here's the address." He scribbled something down on a piece of paper. "And don't be late." His eyes turned to slits.

She was not going and definitely not risking her extension of punishment only for a mediocre party that Gilgamesh acclaimed was going to be the 'best' party of the year.

Upon his departure she had opened her locker, only to realize that she had left her sweater in the classroom, of course it always had to be Gilgamesh that made her loose everything. Silently mumbling a curse word, she hurried back to her classroom and hoped to find the blue sweater waiting for her. Opening the door was the easy part, but seeing Grainne have Diramuid in a rather scandalous position was what got her agitated.

The older male was seated on his black desk chair as the female leaned her knee next to his left leg, pulling him up to her by his tie, his face red and embarrassed. Immediately, Arturia's eyes had widened and she tried to supress her shock. "My sweater." She blinked and glanced at her desk as Grainne had noticed her presence.

"Get it and leave; you're interrupting." Brown eyes sparked with annoyance.

"What a whore." Arturia grumbled under her breath out of pure jealousy, not really directing it to Grainne.

"Excuse me?" Grainne stood straight and faced the female who strode towards her desk.

Once she shot her head towards Grainne she could see a very nervous and weak Diarmuid, and then it hit her; he probably thought it was another teacher and he became terrified that he buried his face in his hands. For a mere second she almost felt sorry for him, she could imagine how afraid he was, but she brushed it off. "You heard me." Arturia smirked and took her sweater from her seat and made her way towards the door before the other female had a chance to speak. "I was going to give you more time since there were some complications yesterday, but I see now that I have your," her face turned towards Grainne, "answer." She almost spat as she eyed the Irish female up and down. "I mean you have a lot in common; starting with your asshole-ness and ending with the fact that you are both Irish. What a lovely couple of jerks." Maybe it had slipped her mouth to say such words, but goodness was she jealous.

"Arturia, wait!" He called as he gathered the courage to stand from his chair and follow the female out the door.

She did not respond and only continued walking as he followed her down the hallway.

"Arturia!" He caught her by the wrist. "It wasn't what it looked like."

"Then what was it? I am pretty sure that you very much like her." Her voice was cold but her heart was thumping loudly, yet she tried to keep indifferent all the while.

"It is not like that at all." She could feel his grip harden on her wrist for he was shaking violently.

"Why do you feel the need to explain this to me?" She refrained from glaring up at the tall man, she would surely go to the party now, to show him that she didn't need him.

"_Yes_. _My answer is yes_."


	19. I am Not a Queen, I am a King

"_Yes_." She blinked up at him, not quite understanding what he meant. Yes; he liked Grainne? Yes what? "_My answer is yes_." And then it hit her; he was distraught, breathing heavily and shaking, his cheeks glowing a soft pink and close enough for her to smell the spearmint gum he had been chewing.

"Oh." It was all she could muster at the top of her head. She could feel her heart beating and maybe he could hear it, and her hand had flown to punch her heart, as to suppress it from being so loud. This was ridiculous; she should not be acting this way.

"If you really," Diarmuid huffed loudly, "want this..." His hand signalled between them. "We need to play this smart."

She only looked up at him still not entirely believing his answer.

"Full dedication. Nothing half assed, your marks improve and no bickering with me. No detention, maybe once more, but none after that. It will be as if we don't know one another." He was speaking in a hushed tone and rather hurriedly. "Oh and you hate me, got it?" He licked his dry lips.

"Maybe we could start by letting go of my hand on school grounds?" She smirked, finally reacting to his answer.

He looked at her and blinked, dropping her hand like a hot potato and using said hand to run it through his hair. "Yes." He mumbled.

"Alright, so don't be too obvious." She bit her bottom lip and turned away. "You wanted the text book, right?" Her brow lifted.

He gave her a questioning look and she rolled her eyes. "Um, oh yes." He nodded as he watched take off her bag and search for the mathematics book.

"Let me just write down the homework." She said and wrote down some words on her hand with a pen and passed the book to him. "Alright, good bye." She shook his hand tightly and turned to leave.

"Good bye." He nodded as he watched her leave, checking his hand her plan was a success and the words were faintly printed on his palm. She was playing it smart.

_'Don't call my cell, I'm grounded. Home phone works. I expect your call.'_

She knew he had the numbers in his records for every teacher had them, but he was upset because he knew it was better not to call her through his house phone or his cellphone; a public phone worked best.

Upon dragging her feet into the house, she hurried to the kitchen and sat next to the phone. Oh why was she so hung up on hearing his call? Biting the inside of her cheek she turned around and looked trough the fridge; she was unsure if he would even call. "He's not that special." She mused under her breath. "I mean he is my teacher and all... I shouldn't expect a lot from him."

The phone rang and she jumped towards it. "Yes?" She tried to sound normal.

"Congratulations! You have won-" she hung up. She shouldn't be so worked up about it.

Arturia made her way towards her room and tried her best not to pay all her attention to the telephone. She had begun on her english homework and then thought about the party, maybe she would go but Jeanne had to come along with her.

It was seven in the evening as she hurried to prepare for the party, she was already in a pair of jeans and a band t-shirt when the phone rung and she had almost forgotten but something went off in her mind and she answered midway into the fifth ring. "Yes?"

"There have been some problems with your daughter's grades that I-"

"Father's not home." She retorted to the familiar voice.

"Good," he sighed in relief, "well, Pendragon, do you have time today?"

"Actually, I was going to a party," Arturia glanced at the watch on her wrist, "but that can wait."

"You should go to that party, I can wait until tomorrow."

"Where are you calling from?" She asked, ignoring his comment.

"A public phone by a park I was hoping to meet you at, but you should go to the party; have some fun. De-stress yourself."

"Where's the park at?" She inquired further.

"Do you have time?"

"Yes."

She heard shuffling and then he spoke again. "Do you know the park that's around a block away from the mall?"

"Memorial?"

"Yeah, can you make it?"

"I can bike there." She replied. "I'll be there in around fifteen minutes, okay?"

"Alright." His voice was still shaky and unsure, but she took it to her advantage.

"See you."

"Hmm." And then she hung up on him, placing on a sweater. She had around three hours before her father got home and she had decided to leave a note telling him that she went to Jeanne's. She might have been grounded but her father never said anything about leaving the house or curfew.

Taking her bicycle out of the garage, she rode all the way to the park. Considering the month, it was getting rather dark outside, but she had made it to the park with ease. It was a little more than fifteen minutes and she remained on her bike as she searched for the male. There were a lot of girls getting kidnapped nowadays, and although she was probably the best fencer in the area, she still didn't want to be confronted by men.

"Pendragon." Her head whipped towards the voice and her mathematics teacher stood straight, looking upon her. He had been wearing sweatpants and a baggy sweater, almost making her believe he was probably twenty, no older than that. Not only was his fashion sense different but his hair was not combed back as always, it hung loosely in front, causing her heart to beat a little louder than it already was, and finally she noticed a small band-aid over the beauty mark under his right eye.

"S-Diarmuid. You wanted to talk, huh?" She locked her bike against a tree and dismounted, only to stand right in front of him, staring at his face.

"Why did you make me choose?" He blinked at her.

"Why did you say yes?" She tilted her head.

"Let's not talk about that."

"Because you're much more interesting than all the boys in the school." She replied and turned so that they could start walking around the park. "Plus, I don't like anyone."

"Then you like me?" He had pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

"Smoking is bad." She hissed up at him, glaring daggers.

"I know." He shrugged, pushing her away slightly.

"Then why are you doing it?" She questioned as he took a deep breath of it.

"I only do it when I'm nervous, and I am nervous."

"Do I make you nervous?"

He licked his lips and ran a hand through his hair. "This situation does."

"Well then, put the cigarette away. Nobody likes a man that smells like tobacco and poison." She took the item from his hands and threw it onto the floor only to step on it.

"Arturia!" He groused and and looked at her as if to punish her.

"What?" She looked at him. "Are you going to give me detention?" The young lady chaffed at him, chuckling lightly.

"Don't disrespect me." He growled. "I am your-"

"As long as we are together there is no such a thing as 'I am your teacher' or 'I am older', that's one rule." She spoke loudly enough for him to hear but not enough to attract attention.

"So we have rules now..."

"Yes, Diarmuid. We must be on first name basis outside of school, and this can be our meeting place. Around this time is fine, but don't be too hung up on always coming here, we must choose two other meeting places and at least three different routes for each place. Okay?" She sat down on the grass and pulled him down with her, so he too could sit.

He sat cross-legged next to her and glanced at her. "Okay. I don't mind the rules, but its not like we are being watched."

"No, but there is something called connecting the dots." She laid back on the grass and looked up at the stars that were beginning to shine.

"Maybe... But people won't find what they are not looking for."

She smirked and huffed. "It's better to be safe than sorry."

He sat picking at the grass strands and tying them into knots. They were silent for a long while and he had made a circle of grass strands. "Here." He passed it to her, a soft smile on his face.

"What the fuck is this?" She looked at the circle made of grass that was placed in her hands.

"No swearing."

"Then what is it?"

"A crown." He took it from her small hands and waited until she sat up straight, then placed it on her head. "There," his smile grew, "my queen."

Arturia furrowed her brows as a soft blush tainted her cheeks. "King, I'm much more powerful than a mere queen. I am a king."

He laughed and patted her head. "Then, my King, I want to be on your council."

"I'm not accepting council members; I'm hiring knights." She shook her head and crossed her arms.

"Then your loyal Knight I shall be." He smiled softly at her and lowered his head.

"Good, don't fail me." She blinked and looked at the time. "Well, I should be going, loyal Knight. I have to meet Jeanne."

"Oh, you're going to the party?" He seemed a bit left out and she somewhat made a connection that he reminded her of a puppy.

Nodding, she stood from the ground and took the grass crown from her head and placed it on his. "We can meet up again tomorrow, if you really want to and my father has not put even more restrictions along with my punishment."

"Arturia, I want to make this clear." He stood as well and looked down upon her. "This is not going to be a lustful relationship, it is going to be a genuine one. So if you are with me only because of... _that_, then this must end."

"I'm not after your body, sir, and I am glad to know that you aren't after mine." She smirked. "Now, I have to get going."

"Okay then, is Sunday alright for you?"

"Yes." And with that she walked off, smiling happily and hurrying back to her bike to then go to Jeanne's house.


	20. Liar

"Oh my goodness..." She had not heard Jeanne mumble it but she noticed the movement on her lips. The girl's violet eyes were wide and her jaw slacked open. "This is enormous." She was in awe at the giant foyer of the house. A grand staircase met the double birch doors and if it weren't for the loud music and the mansion being filled by sweaty teenagers, she would hAve believed that she was in a palace, even the columns that supported the grand staircase were made of pure marble. "I mean, I knew he was rich, but not this rich."

"He drives an Audi on sunny days and a BMW on rainy ones; let's not even get started on snowy days." Arturia retorted.

"I know, but this..." Jeanne could not even finish her sentence for the house was too much for her.

"Personally," the girl beside her spoke as her head was tilted to view the light source above them, "the chandelier would be my favourite thing."

Jeanne's eyes drifted up to view the fine object and nodded. "Beautiful."

"As are the both of you." Gawain smiled as the two girls lowered the heads to meet his gaze. His hair was tossed around messily and he had a somewhat smirk on his features.

"Thank you." Jeanne nodded light and returned his kind gesture.

"Gawain, I would have never expected you to be here..." Arturia blinked.

"I feel the same for you, Arturia."

"But here we are!"

"Ah, yes." His blue eyes sparked and he extended a hand. "Come with me, there are drinks and snacks in the kitchen."

"What kind of drinks?" Jeanne noticed that the hand was not for Arturia but rather for her to take.

"Alcohol and normal juice, if you don't want to drink." He explained and she took his hand so he could lead her to the kitchen.

Arturia followed close behind, making sure not to loose them in the sea of teenagers. Recalling what Gilgamesh had said in her house, she noticed that the floor was in fact marble and in some places quite sticky. Once she had looked back up to admire the chandelier and forget about the sticky substance her black converse stepped in, she noted that neon pink laced bra hung from one of its branches.

The house vibrated along with the bass of the music and people faced around one another, causing her to squish herself past them. It was when someone bumped into her that she lost sight of the two teenagers she was following.

Her stature did her no good as she stood on her tip-toes to look for her friends. A hand that wrapped itself around her wrist had made her alerted and with a simple jerk of her hand, she was pressed up against a toned chest.

Unconsciously, she gasped and upon finding out who the figure really was, she pushed the young man away. "Gilgamesh." She huffed.

"I went by your house to pick you up but you weren't at home, and you came late. Where have you been?" He inquired, eyebrow raised and an arm steadily around her waist.

"Nowhere." She hissed and rolled her eyes.

"Liar." He husked in her ear, causing a chill to run down her spine. "Don't lie to me, Arturia."

"Leave me me alone, Gil." Once she had tried to break from the grip he had around her wrist, he held it tighter and wrapped his arm back around her waist.

"Not only are you late, but now you're lying and avoiding my question." He had felt her tense under his touch when he had asked for her whereabouts and now he was upset with her lies.

"Let me go, Gilgamesh." She warned.

"Or what?" Another husk in her ear made her squirm in his arms.

"Let. Me. Go."

"How about," he sighed, "no."

"Gilgamesh, either you let go of me, or I will push you away and seriously hurt you. I can do a lot with a hand."

"Is that a threat?"

"Yes. Now let me go."

"I have the right to hold you."

"And I have the right to hurt you."

"No. That is rude." He spoke. "Come on, let's go get a drink."

Arturia blinked and then remembered that that was where her friends were heading. "Oh, yes." She had seemed to forget of the previous events on the outside but her blood boiled in her body as she followed the male to the kitchen. She should not have been so surprised to see the luxurious kitchen, but she was. Her jaw had dropped and she noticed that Jeanne was indeed there along with Gawain, and it somewhat seemed to her as they were flirting.

"What do you want to drink?" He asked, and it occurred to her that he was rich enough to have sound proof rooms, let alone a sound proof kitchen.

She did not respond, but instead hurried towards Jeanne.

"Hey," Jeanne smiled, "where were you?" Her brows furrowed in confusion, and she was a little upset that they had lost her on the way to the kitchen.

"Trying to find you." Arturia murmured as the male appeared behind her. He held two shot glasses in his hand and extended one to her. She looked upon it cautiously and eyed the male.

"Can you tolerate alcohol?" He asked, an eyebrow raising.

"Yes." She took the whiskey from his hand and swirled the liquid about the shot glass.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Alright, I hope so cause I want to test it out." He smirked down at her as he brought the glass to his lips.

"Why?"

"I don't want you to lie to me anymore." He licked his lips and down the first shot, causing her to follow.

Jeanne had warned her about drinking or something like that but Arturia wasn't listening for she was already determined to show how much alcohol she could truly take. Of course, Jeanne did not join them for she was not into drinking so much and she was driving, so she only supervised them and would converse with Gawain as she sipped at the pomegranate juice in her hands.

Shot after shot, the whiskey bottle was finished and she swayed slightly, not being able to hold onto her sober self. He too was a bit tipsy, okay they were not _a bit_, they were pretty drunk. They stopped from downing another bottle and instead began to talk.

"So, where were you before you came?" Gilgamesh asked.

"I was with -"

"Oh my," Jeanne piped, "Look at the time! We have to get going!" She interrupted the two teenagers and hurried to help the girl to her feet. "Isn't your father going to get home soon?" She asked.

Gawain was a little confused after Jeanne's sudden outburst but helped her lead the half-drunk female to her small car. For a second, Jeanne was scared that the girl would blurt out the situation to the entire kitchen and the whole entire school would know by the following morning.

"Bye, Jeanne. It was nice talking to you." Gawain smiled as he leaned into the driver's window.

"You too." She returned the smile and shook his hand, finally leaving the party and taking Arturia home.

Once Jeanne arrived at Arturia's house, she was relieved that her father had not yet arrived and so she was able to take Arturia up the stairs without a problem. "I can walk." Arturia would cockily state occasionally. But Jeanne would always deny it and then she was laid down in her room.


	21. Father, I Swear I am Not!

**¬Author's Note¬**

**Hey guys, welcome back to the story :) I've been re-atching Fate/Zero cause my lil bro wanted to see how good it really was... and I mean it's like I'm reviewing the anime, haha, but the animation was really really really amazing, I cannot even. Anyways, I am still watching Fate/Stay Night UBW, and I mean she has changed quite a bit. Saber seems more feminine in FSN than she did in Fate/Zero, though it only makes sense with the previous anime's ending and all... I don't know, she just seems different... Anyways, thanks for the reviews guys! I am so happy that I have 50 now :) Thank you for supporting me for I know I would not be this far without you guys! Thanks again and enjoy the chapter!**

**Sincerely,**

**¬Ms. AtomicBomb**

* * *

In the middle of the night she awoke, panting and hurrying to the washroom, where she tried to rid herself of her sickness. It was ridiculous, why had she even agreed to the meaningless drinking contest if she knew this was what would happen after the ordeal. Why would she even fall for the petty tricks of such a man. Man? barely, an idiot. Goodness! What was wrong with her? She should have known that it was because he wanted to get information from her, she could remember, but she needed to show him that she wasn't as weak as he thought her to be.

Her rage grew but it only came in the form of hurling into the toilet. After practically sleeping by the toilet, she awoke to an immense head ache, her rear numbed, her body aching from the position she slept in and her father tapping his foot impatiently by the door. She groaned and tried to stretch without causing the thumping in her head to become stronger and louder. She could taste the bitterness of the vomit in her mouth and she winced.

"I hope you have a good explanation because I doubt that you were studying with Jeanne." The stern face of Uther caused her to flinch.

Oh God, there she goes again! The sound of her pouring out her inside echoed in the room and she heard a gasp from her father. "Unless," He breathed, "You're pregnant."

Arturia fell into a coughing fit. "What?" She managed to wheeze as she wiped her mouth on the sweater that she referred to being her favourite for the patterns of armour it obtained.

"No wonder! I should have known! You slept with that boy, didn't you?" There was rage in his voice and he approached her.

"No! Oh goodness no!" She shook her head. "No, ew no! I swear I still have my virtue!" She flailed her hands in front of herself. "It takes a month to be showing signs of morning sickness anyway and it's been two days since the incident you saw, father."

"How do I know that you haven't been with him before?"

"Do you not trust me?"

"I don't know what to think anymore. I will buy the test and you will try it. Come with me." He lifted her from the floor and dragged her out of the washroom.

She coughed a little more and whined. "Father, I swear I'm not pregnant! I only drank a lot, I don't need to take a pregnancy test!"

"I don't care, you are going to take it."

"Can I at least change?" She groaned.

"No!" And her father drove her all the way to the super market, where they hurried to _the_ isle to get said test. Her father looked at the possibilities before him and analyzed each brand by picking them up one by one. "Which is more accurate?" He mumbled.

"I'm not pregnant!" She whined once again.

A store worker walked towards them and pointed at a light pink box. "That one. It's a little more price-y, but much more accurate than the rest."

"Thank you." Her father took three boxes and nodded at the store worker as if acknowledging her help, while Arturia rolled her eyes and shook from embarrassment. Her head was still thumping loudly, she could barely open her eyes, and she was a mess. Her hair a train wreck, her eyeliner (that Jeanne insisted she apply) smudged around her eyes and her clothes reeking of alcohol, not to mention some vomit stains on her sweater. **Humiliation**, she called it.

After trying to follow her father to the cashier discreetly, she had spotted her mathematics teacher on the checkout line her father was directing himself towards. "Father! Um, that one is less filled." She pointed at another cashier checkout.

Her father glanced its way and shook his head. "No, this one's fine."

Arturia felt her blood boil as her green eye twitched. This was not going to happen, right? Clenching her fist she took hold of her father's coat with the other. "Then self-checkout?" It was worth a shot, maybe she would fail miserably, or she would triumph; but that was all up to her father.

"Okay." Uther agreed and she could feel a wave of relief wash over her.

'Thank you, God.' She mumbled up to the ceiling, making her way to the self-checkout line. After buying the items, her father dragged her out of the store, and much to her misfortune, a certain teacher had so decided to park his car next to theirs, and to add to the fact that he was putting the groceries into the car, her father noticed the man.

"Mister Ua Duibhne, good to see you. I haven't seen you since the parent interview night, how have you been?" Her father smiled.

Diarmuid lifted his head and looked at Uther. "Oh, hello mister Pendragon, I'm doing swell, and you?"

"That's good," a brighter smile, "oh, I'm getting my daughter some thing that she needs to take."

"Is she sick?" Diarmuid seemed to avoid eye contact with her, but he had already seen her get-up.

"Not exactly, but something of the sort, right Arturia?" Her father turned to her and so did Diarmuid.

"I swear, father, I am not." She blushed and avoided meeting her teacher's gaze.

"We will only know for sure within the next four hours after you drink a gallon of water per hour." He turned back to Diarmuid. "Hopefully I can meet you again one day soon."

"It would be a pleasure."

"Goodbye then." Her father nodded and fled into the car, leaving Arturia alone with her teacher.

"See you on Monday." He said as he continued to pack the groceries, checking to see if he could get a glimpse of what was in the bag that she held tightly in her hand. "What's that?"

"Nothing." She hissed and held the bag even tighter.

He was caught off guard and looked at her with a small pained expression, she immediately regretted speaking to him like such but her trance was interrupted when a honk infiltrated her ears. She looked at the male and nodded before entering the car, only to be driven home. She was relieved her father had not said anything about what they were actually doing in the super store, but it was only natural, he didn't want to soil his reputation because of what he believed was his daughter's mistakes.

Upon the arrival at her home, she had drunk the gallon of water and had taken the tests each our, all coming out negative. "Father, that is enough humiliation that I have gone through today." She hissed.

"I was only being cautious, it is normal to act this way." Uther reasoned.

"Father, this was ridiculous, you even made me look bad in front of my teacher!"

"Teacher or not, I did not spill out the truth, I could have easily said 'my daughter might be pregnant'; now that would have been ridicule."

"It was bad enough that I looked like crap, but now people think that I might be pregnant..." She lifted her hands to rub her face.

Her father groaned and stood from the couch, "Fine, since I ridiculed you enough, I will lift your grounding. But if I find out that you've gone behind my back and invited boys and all, I promise you that you will be grounded until you finish university. Is that understood?"

"Yes."


	22. The Mall?

**¬Author's Note¬**

**Hey guys, this was more of a filler and I too have an essay due in like an hour, I only need to print it now :) Well I hope you guys are having a great day and enjoy the short chapter, tomorrow's will be better; I promise :)**

**Sincerely,**

**Ms. Atomic Bomb**

* * *

Arturia twisted her face into a frown as Jeanne had woken her up early in the morning only to take her to the mall. She though it to be idiotic that Jeanne wished to go to the promotion that La Senza was having, she also said that she preferred La Senza because it was cheaper than Victoria's secret. "The only thing Victoria is keeping secret is the money she earns." She had said that the last time she had dragged Arturia to mall and observed the red bra that was priced at fifty-four dollars and ninety-nine cents. Plus, Sundays were never Arturia's days to go out, it was a day to relax, not waste money.

"I only brought one hundred, since I have been saving them for six months just to get, like, three new bras." Jeanne mumbled. "The rest is for food."

"I didn't bring any money." Arturia stated as the two girls made their way to the pink and black store.

The Frenchwoman crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "What? Don't lie, the other day you told me you needed a new bra, well; we're getting some."

Arturia rolled her eyes and rubbed her temples, Jeanne was bit too girly sometimes.

"Oh! And! And! They have this really nice spray that I think you should buy!"

"No."

"Yes!" Jeanne clapped her hands as they entered the store. "Oh!" She was then distracted by a bra that was much to soft for her hands. "I like this one!"

After denying a worker that had offered to help them, Arturia nodded at Jeanne. "Then buy it."

"I don't like the colour...Black is not really me."

"Then look for a better colour."

"Can you help me?"

"Alright." The green-eyed girl nodded and helped the other look for a white one and a blue one as well, as she had asked. There was no design, they were plain, but very very soft.

As the young English girl looked around for the bra that Jeanne had wanted she came across many other ones. Frilly, lace-y, too much padding, to little coverage; there were scandalous ones and pure ones. But colours and sizes a-plenty! She wondered how often other girls came into shops like these, or how many bras other girls bought. Jeanne and her agreed that seven bras were enough and maybe there would also be controls; one black and one white, and only one that was extravagant.

"Look at this one; I think it's cute." Jeanne pulled up a nice lace filled red one. It had designs of roses and some sort of bow to connect it from the front.

Arturia blinked and nodded. "Yeah, it is. Buy it."

"For you." The other smiled and passed it. "It's your size too."

"No thank you."

"Buy it!" She insisted as she dragged her to the changing room, where the other could try it out. Without much success, Arturia was forced to buy the bra, and Jeanne had gotten her own.

"It's not fair that you have plain ones and I have this girly one."

"But it's cute."

"But I don't like it."

"Yes you do. You agreed with it being cute."

"Because it would look good on you." As she had said that, Arturia had noticed three pairs of eyes land on them. She thought little of it and they only continued their around the mall. They had gone to the cafeteria and spent the day walking around the mall and checking out stores to see what they would buy the following time they came. The only other thing that the girls bought was three metal pipes her father had asked for since one of the water pipes was damaged, and he had wanted to change some other ones as well. It was rather late when the had decided to make their way out of the mall and to the parking lot. Once they were walking past the cars she heard someone call out to them, but both Jeanne and her ignored it.

"Hey, we were talking to you, whores." A man had hissed as he pulled on Jeanne's braid.

The poor girl squealed and tried her best to get away from the man but he took a grip of her wrist tightly as the other two males surrounded them, she hissed and screamed but the man held her tighter.

"Let her go." Arturia growled, glaring daggers on the male that held onto her friend.

"And why should I?" The dark haired man chuckled. "Are you going to bite me?"

"Let me go." Jeanne warned since she had seen the look on Arturia's eyes before.

"Actually, I know how to wield a sword, and a sword is not much different than a pipe, so if you want me to break your neck, then go ahead." She was not one to start fights, and she wasn't the one to start this one either. The other two males laughed but Arturia was quick to grab one of the pipes and smack the man's hand with it, handing one to Jeanne as well. "Want to bet on how many bone I can break in the next twenty minutes?" She hissed.

"Fine, let's go." The main male turned to leave as he rubbed his hand and tried to hide the pain her felt. "These whores are no fun."

"Cause I can destroy you in less than ten minutes?" The man was tempted to turn back to view her but ignored her comment and the other males followed him.

"That was close." Jeanne wiped her brow. "Come on, let's go home." She was truly scared of what happened but she tried her best to keep calm. Maybe a good night's rest would do her well and she would not be scared afterwards.

"Yeah." Arturia nodded and they made sure they were not followed as they made their way back to Jeanne's car. "Hey, don't we have an essay due tomorrow?"

"Oh shoot!" Jeanne was quick to step on the accelerator.


	23. Apples and Warm Feelings

**¬Author's Note¬**

**Hey guys, so the last chapter was just a filler as I have already said, and yeah. But this one is much better and I cannot get over the fact that ufotable has glorious animation and the theme songs for Fate/Zero are simply gorgeous... re-watching this is**** doing me good. :) Well anyways, back to the story, I bet your dying to read it :) (Sorry for uploading it so late) Enjoy, and remember to show your support for me by reviewing :D**

**Sincerely,**

**¬Ms. AtomicBomb**

* * *

"Are you going to eat it?" Arturia referred to the apple that sat right next to her as she swung her legs.

"No. You can have it, and please get off my desk." He did not raise his head from the marking he was doing, much to his despair, he had not yet finished marking the grade nine tests of the previous week.

"I like your desk." She mumbled lightly and took the red apple from its position to bring it up to her lips. "Being together doesn't feel much different."

The teacher chose to remain silent as he continued marking the tests, making sure not to lift his head or even make a single sound for he felt he would be doing something wrong. In fact, the whole situation made him seriously rethink his moral decisions; this wasn't right, but why did he want to continue keeping her closer to him? His black pen continued to scribble marks and comments down as she took a bite of the apple. Maybe it was an awkward silence, or maybe it wasn't, but it was indeed eerie because they were both afraid of what the other would say.

"I never liked apples; they make me hungry." She was the first to speak, letting him ease for a little bit before formulating a proper response.

"Why so?" He decided it was best to look up although, when he did, her back was to him.

A shrug from her part. "They're empty, just like this relationship is starting off." It was all she needed to say to offend him. He stood from his seat and rubbed his temples.

"With all due respect, Pendragon, but what would you have me do?" He blinked as she turned around. "Besides the fact that I have to be the responsible adult of which I'm failing miserably at, I also have to make sure I do not loose my job and possibly be imprisoned, and for you to remain with a good reputation. You interest me, yes, but you must keep in mind that I am a teacher before I am your-" Diarmuid paused -"Your... l-lover, for lack of a better word." It truly was something hard to say, and he never sounded rude while speaking.

Stepping back on the ground from her previous seated position from the desk, she made her way towards him; her lips in a straight line, and her green eyes looking upon him intently. "Is the door locked?" She asked as she looked back to make sure that the blinds were covering the window.

He furrowed his brows in slight confusion and nodded lightly. "Y-yes... why?"

"Good." She murmured and stepped even closer towards him. "We could start breaking the ice by at least holding hands." Arturia reached for his hand and she noted that he flinched as their hands brushed one another. His hand was cold and rather big compared to hers. Gently intertwining their fingers, she looked back up at him and nearly smiled as she saw that blood had rushed towards his cheeks. It was a comforting feeling, his soft hold on her own small hand, the tender look in his eyes; it made her feel warm inside. "It feels nice..." She whispered so softly that it went unheard from his part.

"Your hands are warm..." He mumbled.

"And yours are cold."

Diarmuid turned his face towards the thermometer, "Maybe I should turn up the heat, the classes always complain that it's cold."

"It's fine like this." She did not mean the temperature in the class, but rather the fact that she didn't want him to let her hand go only to change the idiotic thermometer that did not matter at all.

"Oh," he looked back down at her, watching as her gaze was on their intertwined hands, "okay." He then took her free hand in his own and intertwined their fingers as his lips grew into a smile.

Arturia lifted her head and looked up at her teacher. "It's a good start." She gulped and awaited his approval.

"A perfect start." There was silence between them for a while and it was the sound of a talking group of teenagers that caused them to let go of one another's hands. Her heart had fluttered slightly once he had slipped his hand from hers and then the warm feeling inside her vanished as he turned to collect the papers from his desk.

"You will go first." He spoke. "And then after a while, I will leave the school as well."

"Can we maybe go to the park tonight?" She asked.

"Not tonight, we must wait a while."

"But I want to spend time with you..."

He turned back towards her and landed a hand on her shoulder gently. "Tomorrow, alright?"

"Of course." She was disappointed and he could tell, but there was nothing he could do. He sighed lightly and bit the inside of his lip.

"If you really do, then come to this address." Quickly scribbling something down on a piece of paper, he handed it to her and watched as she took it in her hands and shoved it in to her pocket.

"What time do you want me to be there?"

"Anywhere within an hour to nine in the evening." He smiled and patted her head. "Call me before coming."

"Alright." She nodded and took his hand once more, squeezing it and then letting it go. "I will be sure to do that."


	24. Pillow Fights? No, Apartment Domination

**¬Author's Note¬**

**Hey guys, welcome back to my story; sorry to keep you all waiting since I haven't updated in a while. Well, the thing was that I was writing it on my iPod and deleted it by accident, so I got pretty upset and it took me even longer to write it. Sorry guys, I know that you've been waiting patiently; so I did make this chaper longer than the rest just for you guys :) So enjoy and don't forget to Review; you support makes me want to update quicker :) Have a great day and or evening/night. And remember, it's Remembrance Day; so do take the time to pay you respects for the fallen soldiers and living soldiers that have done what they can to make your country a better place. Wear a poppy, or simply reflect.**

**I would also like to say that I do not advise you to going into males' houses alone; go with a friend or make sure the person's parents are home if they still live with them. Not everyone is as respectful as Lancer, so please do not actually try this at home and keep safe :)**

**Sincerely,**

**¬Ms. AtomicBomb**

* * *

The squeaking of her muddy black converse on the tile floor made her calm down a little more. Her emerald green eyes gazed over the many apartment doors she passed by. The lights were bright in the hallway, shining on the tiles and making the hallway look immensely bright, to the point that it physically hurt her eyes. It was a rather fancy apartment building, now that she thought of it. She was getting a little cold, walking past the many apartments, but she refrained from letting the goosebumps form under her skin.

_**2005**_

_**2006**_

_**2007**_. There she was, she could not turn back now. This was it. The water puddled around her and she contemplated knocking on the door. Her clothes were drenched and rather sticky to her body, she was embarrassing, but she did not ride all the way here for nothing.

Knock, she brought herself to do it, knock.

Covering the peephole, she sighed, hoping the male would not see her before she could see him. Her fist was shoved into her pocket and she was nibbling her lower lip. The door knob turned and the door squealed open.

Amber orbs grew wide as his eyes landed upon the female before him. "Pendragon..." He gripped the spatula in his hand and stepped aside for her to go inside his apartment. "Come in." He mumbled and watched as she did so. He peaked out to the hallway to check if anyone had witnessed her enter and after conforming that there was not, he closed the door behind himself. "Um..." He turned to her and scratched his head with his free hand. "Do you need a change of clothes...?"

Grazing her tongue over her lower lip quickly, she nodded. "If it is not too much trouble."

"How did you..." He tried not to look at her directly for he had already observed that her white Rolling Stones t-shirt was see-trough. "How did you... Um... Get in?"

"An old lady opened the door." She spoke.

"Ah," he nodded, "did she ask anything?"

"No."

"Okay."

He stood still by the door way and there was no talking between them. A deafening silence filled the room and he only breathed in for a while as she looked up at him as if awaiting something.

"Um, you are going to give me a change of clothes...?" Her voice was raised at the end of her sentence.

"Oh yes!" He nodded and hurried off to his room, only to return to her with a black Batman t-shirt, some grey sweat pants and a red towel in his hands. "Here." He passed them to her.

"Thank you." Arturia nodded as she wrapped the towel around herself. "Where's the washroom?"

"The last room to your right down the small hallway there." He pointed towards the general direction.

"Thank you."

"Hm." He nodded and watched as she disappeared into the bathroom.

Sadly, she had left a trail of water on her way there and he had to clean it up. A sigh escaped his lips and he headed for the small closet he kept the mop in. It was the fire alarm that had made him jump and race to the kitchen to wet a small hand towel as he removed the pan from the stove. Quickly covering the alarm with the wet towel after turning the stove off, he was determined not to make the entire apartment building have to evacuate because there was a certain child in his condo.

Footsteps of a running person filled the room and Arturia was in the kitchen within a few seconds. "What happened?" She saw that the male was stretched to muffle the alarm and prevent it from beeping any longer as something cracked in the sink. "What did you do?"

"Can you pour water in that?" He called and she blinked up at him in confusion before walking towards the sink and doing as asked.

After the pan cracked a couple of more times and water sizzled into vapour, he was able to muffle the fire alarm, of which had stopped crying long ago.

"I got distracted," he began the explanation, "you left a trail of water and I was going to clean it up before the alarm went off." He began by folding the small hand towel and placing it on the handle of the oven.

Nodding she almost laughed at him, "I see... I'll help mop then as you take care of this carbon dioxide problem, deal?"

"Yes." He smiled in relief and turned to clean the certain pan that remained in the sink, probably still rather hot.

"Where can I find the mop?" She asked and he pointed at a closet behind her.

"There."

She followed his gaze and went to the closet to get said mop to clean up the mess she had made. Once she had her hands on the mop, she began to clean up the trail of water. The shirt he had given her could have been considered a dress since it covered all the way to her mid-thighs and the sweatpants were much too big on her that -even though she had the waist strap already right below her chest -the legs of the pants dragged across the floor.

The clothes were very comfortable and rather warm, they smelt of fresh lemon scent and something different; not cologne nor freshener, but something unique; it was as if it were mixed watermelon and strawberries, it was sweet and then it also smelt of something else that she could not pin-point what it was.

"I can finish cleaning." It was the fact that she heard his voice behind herself that scared her.

"It's okay. I will." She replied, her head locked on the floor she was cleaning

"Okay..." Diarmuid nodded and leaned on the wall as she finished cleaning the trail. "You didn't call before you came."

"I kind of decided that last minute. I was going to Jeanne's and I left my phone at home... So yeah." She shrugged as she went to put the mop back to its original place.

"Oh... Um, you should make sure to call next time."

"Yes, I know."

"So why did you come?"

"I already said that it was because I wanted to spend time with you, Diarmuid." Green orbs were rolled as she licked her lips.

There was a blush on his cheeks as he looked up and away from her. "Yes, but we will see each other tomorrow anyways."

"Have you forgotten about rule number one? We don't talk about it at school nor do we even talk to one another there." Arturia stated as she made her way back towards him. "What games do you have?" She looked up at him.

"Games?"

"Yes, games. I mean, it's not like you're completely an adult, right?"

"Do you mean board games or video games?" He blinked.

"Video games could work. What counsel do you have?"

"An Xbox. What game do you want to play?" He then led her to the living room where he showed her the many games he had.

"Race cars." She pointed at a game box with a nice Ferrari on the cover.

Inserting the CD, he passed a remote controller over to Arturia as he himself took one. After she had sat down, he too did so, but made sure he was far from her. Led Zeppelin played in the speakers and Cars revolved as he two players chose their favourite vehicle.

"I like this one." Arturia selected her favourite.

"But I like that one too." He spoke.

"I chose it first. Now choose your second favourite." She smiled.

He nodded and looked for the other, choosing it to be a dark rich green with flame designs. "Do you want a blanket?" He noticed that her hair was still wet and she nodded. "Alright then, I'll be right back."

Arturia watched as he left and then continued to choose a track, she chose the most curvy, only to see his reaction. He came back with a red blanket in one hand and a yellow pillow on the other.

"Here." He passed them to her with a soft smile on his lips.

"Thanks. I already chose a track. Come on, let's start."

They began to play and Diarmuid couldn't help but notice the way she mumbled comments about the way she was playing, things like 'damn', 'no, no, no' and 'haha', not only that but she also tilted her body in the direction that she wanted the car to move.

"You do know that by tilting the controller there is no difference, right?" He chuckled lightly.

Arturia grumbled as she paused the game and turned to him. "Don't tell me how to play my games."

"Actually, the game is mine." He stated with a slight matter-of-factly tone, but still making it a lighthearted joke.

Arturia took the yellow pillow and threw it at the male. "Ha, it was I that insisted on playing, mister rude man."

Diarmuid laughed and threw the pillow back to her. Since it had hit her square in the face, she growled and tossed the pillow back, grabbing another cushion and hitting him with it.

As cushions flew across the room and they scattered to grab another, they each had built their own small fort out of blankets and furniture. Arturia hid behind the couch and Diarmuid had flipped the coffee table so that it would block any incoming pillows.

"Give up, Diarmuid." She laughed as she peaked over the edge of the couch. "I have the advantage, and over half of the apartment too."

"Never."

"Step down, your King commands it." She called back.

"With all due respect, my King, but I cannot do that." He spoke in a joking sorrowful tone.

"Then face the wrath of the first Knight of The Round!" Arturia announced before throwing a cushion towards the male, hitting him in the head. She took two other cushions and left the comfort of her fort to attack Diarmuid's. "Ha!" She smirked as she threw one cushion and repeatedly smacked him with the other.

"Oh no!" He coughed. "I have been slain!" Diarmuid slowly lowered himself as he clutched his stomach.

"There could only be one winner," her smile grew to a wide grin, "I promise to have you buried where you wish to be."

"Good luck with that, it's going to cost a fortune." He wheezed and then 'died'.

A loud malicious laugh erupted from Arturia's throat and she stood. "Wow, that was easy; today this apartment, tomorrow the world."

A hand wrapped around her ankle and pulled her down. "Bet you thought you'd seen the last of me." Diarmuid laughed as he stood with a pillow in hand as he held it to her neck. "Give me the land or I will have no choice but to end you."

"Over my dead body."

And with that simple response, Diarmuid dropped the pillow on her neck as he made a sound of splitting air. As if the pillow was the blade of a guillotine, she ceased to move. The male took a seat next to her and pretended to cough a bit more. "My injuries are too much for me..." And then he too joined her in motionless despair.

She burst out laughing as she sat up. "What is this, Romeo and Juliet?" She looked down at him for he was still laying down on the floor.

"Hey," he laughed, "there were no families, no marriages, no misunderstandings. It was only a tragic play; both heroes died."

"My mathematics teacher teaching me English?"

"I did not only study math." He reasoned.

"So who won?" She tilted her head.

"The fish." He pointed at the medium comet that swan in the tank next to the television.

She smiled and nodded. "Damn you, fish!" She joked.

Diarmuid sat up and looked at Arturia, "He has a name; Scruffles."

"Damn you, Scruffles!" She repeated. "What time is it?" He head turned back towards the male.

"Um," Diarmuid looked down at his watch, "nine twenty-three." He spoke.

"Oh darn it! I was supposed to be at Jeanne's an hour ago!" Quickly getting up from the floor, she took three cushions with her and tried to place them back on the couch neatly. "Is it still raining?" She asked as she rushed to the door way and tried to shove her foot in to her shoe.

"Not anymore." He had peaked out the window and walked to meet her at the doorway as well. "So, see you at school."

"Bye." She smiled and held out her hand.

"Goodbye." He shook her hand and then let go.

"What kind of boyfriend do I have? Doesn't even hold my hand for ten seconds." She grumbled and rolled her eyes. "Alright then, see you tomorrow then. Maybe I can come over again?" She tilted her head.

"No. Not tomorrow. It's not a good time." He shook his head.

"Then Thursday?"

"No, I have to write the test for Monday." He sighed.

"Oh, okay. I just want to say that there is not point in you having said yes if we can't even see each other." She shrugged.

He smiled softly and brought her into a hug. "I'm sorry." He mumbled a little awkwardly.

"It's alright." She shrugged and awkwardly wrapped her arms around his waist as well, while her heart began to go insane; thumping in her chest loudly that she wished to suppress it once more. "Okay, I've got to go." She pushed him away and began to turn the door knob.

"Bye." He waved.

"Yeah." He nodded as she waved in return and then watched as she left, before closing the apartment door.


	25. Off to Visit Jeanne and Igraine

**¬Author's Note¬**

**Welcome back :) Um this is more of a filler. But it is going to transition to the next chapter anyways ;) it is a rather sad chapter but you can do ****this guys! Thanks for the awesome reviews! Nevertheless, enjoy :))))**

**Sincerely,**

**¬Ms. AtomicBomb**

* * *

"So how did the date go?" Jeanne asked as the two girls climbed the stairs and headed for the violet-eyed girl's room. "What did you guys do?"

"It wasn't exactly a date, we played some games." Arturia shrugged, not really giving the other much attention.

Jeanne turned to her with a bright smile on her lips. "Like monopoly?"

"No, video games." She shrugged.

"Video games? I would have be never thought. I mean, he doesn't look like the type."

"I don't think anybody does." Arturia sighed and sat on Jeanne's red and blue bed.

"What else did you do? I know for a fact those aren't yours." She eyed Arturia's attire. "And I really hope that you didn't do _the deed_."

"What?" Arturia furrowed her brows and wrinkled her nose. "No!" She shook her head repeatedly. "Why? Why would you even think that? I got wet so he gave me a change of clothes." She explained, still frantically speaking as if she actually was guilty.

"I hope."

"He's not that kind of guy."

"How do you know? You barely know him."

"If he blushed at simply hand holding and a small hug, then I would assume that he's not that disrespectful."

"He does seem like a good man, and I do believe you on that assumption, but you never know. Next time, you have to make sure to contact me every ten minutes or so, so that I know that I don't have to worry about the endless possibilities."

"Yes, Jeanne." She nodded. This was when she noticed that Jeanne was much like a mother; caring, sweet and even strict when it came to what she believed was right. Jeanne was really always there for her lately and she was thankful for that. "Is this right?" She looked over her shoulder to Jeanne who was searching her wardrobe for something.

"Is what right?" Jeanne continued to search for whatever it was she was looking for.

Arturia shrugged and sighed. "You know, what is happening between me and... _him_..."

"No." Jeanne was blunt in her response. "It's not right; I know that for sure." She continued. "But I cannot judge if you truly like him. That is why I ask you now, do you genuinely like Ua Duibhne? I need to know in order to support you and your decision."

"I don't like him; I feel a little different when I am with him and I like the feeling that being around him gives me. I think that it makes me different but I don't exactly like him. It is just something I want to have right now."

"You make it hard for me to find a way and actually support you, you know that right?" She stopped searching the wardrobe and went to sit next to the female. "I will not speak of your relationship, and I promise to not say anything about what I think to you either. As your best friend; I want you to know that you can count on me to keep your secrets and be there for you when you need me." She wrapped an arm around the female. "On that note, you need to confirm your feeling for him because there is so much I can do."

"Thanks." Arturia nodded and sighed loudly, only to fall back on the bed.

Jeanne nodded. "You're welcome."

"So how are you and Gawain? You and he have been talking lately."

"There's nothing between us." Jeanne replied, rather bluntly as she had before.

"So what was it that you were looking for?"

"Money."

"For what?"

"Ugh," Jeanne grunted in defeat, "alright, he invited me to the movies and I agreed, so now I need money. But still," she brought her hands up as a defense, "there actually is nothing between us as of now."

Arturia furrowed her brows. "When are you going?" She questioned.

"Tomorrow evening; we're going to watch that new movie that recently came out... The one about that girls who wants to save her country or something."

"Ah," Arturia smiled, "Well, good luck."

* * *

On Friday Arturia had finally been able to wash the clothes she had borrowed from Diarmuid and neatly folded them to put them inside a bag that she would take to him. Her mind wondered and she thought about what Jeanne had asked in the past days; did she really like Diarmuid? Her hands were wrapped around the coffee mug, in which it held Earl Grey tea. The warmth radiated onto her hands and it reminded her of the warmth she felt in her chest when she held his hand. Her heart began to speed up and her cheeks suddenly became hotter. _Oh no_, she thought to herself, _stop_; she referred to both her heart and her mind. She liked Diarmuid, but definetly not loved, since they had just begun their relationship, and man was he awkward. If he hadn't been so stiff, she could have possibly been able to land a kiss on his lips, since their first kiss was not so official and rather short, to be frank.

Her emerald gaze was on the vapour of the warm liquid but her mind still roamed. He was quite good looking; she preferred when his hair was down and she did really like the beauty mark under his eye, even if she had taken it as he hated it. Although his hand was cold, the simple act of holding it made her feel warm inside, and her heart did weird things that she hated. There was no need for her stomach turning or her heart commencing a competition of Gymnastics, there really wasn't. She only liked the warm feeling that he gave her, but all other symptoms made her irritated. If this was what it meant to like someone, she didn't really like it but if it was Diarmuid then she could possibly endure it for a while longer.

"I was hoping you would visit your mother soon." Her father sat at the breakfast table in front of her. "I went to do so yesterday, and I could not help but notice that you haven't been there in a while, actually... since _the_ day."

"I don't like Cemeteries; they're depressing." She had sounded so cold that her father had nearly took her comment to heart and was clearly disappointed.

"You must at least take her some flowers; how do you expect her to live on if you will not even go greet her. You needn't spend the entire day there, but at least go for five minutes, it demonstrates that you really care." Uther landed a hand softly on hers. "I promise that going will make you feel better; I personally have gone through that." It had been nearly three weeks since he had touched a single bottle of alcohol, and she assumed that that was what her father had referred to when he was speaking.

"I will visit her tomorrow. I have school today." She stood from the table and left the half full mug of tea on the table. "See you tonight." She smiled, "Have a great day." She always said that before leaving for school because she already knew what could happen. "Love you!" She called from the door as she slipped on her shoes and took her house keys from the small table that stood next to the door. She hurried past the motorcycle for she had decided to leave it behind because it would give her more time to contemplate and criticize her decisions on life and quickly made her way to school.

The day had been uneventful and nothing happened afterschool even after she had returned his clothes. She had to return the discretely since he had offered to help a handful of students in further understanding the past two lessons on Trig Identities. Thus, she had decided to take a stroll trough the supermarket to buy some flowers for her mother, since she deemed the day proper for the occasion. Upon buying tulips, she exited and made her way to the Cemetery. It was true, she never liked cemeteries, they made her shiver and ponder about her own life.

"Hello." She set the tulips down with a soft and sorrowful smile on her features. "Father's right, it has been a while." She found the sound of her own voice comforting in the silent cemetery. "How are you doing?"

Of course, she was only replied to by silence, as if engulfing the entire premises. Anything that made noise seemed to be sucked out and there was nothing other than her. "I'm doing well." She spoke again. "I have a boyfriend, but it's a secret; no one can know about it."

Arturia could not find any other words to speak and so she took a seat by the grave and closed her eyes. Maybe silence was the best conversation. Silence was the heart speaking in this situation. "I miss you." She needed to say it. It was something she always found herself murmuring upon the reminisce of her mother. "Please come back."


	26. Horrible Pick-Up Line

**¬Author's Note¬**

**Sorry for any spelling erros, I literally wrote this on the bus on my way to work. Hopefully it's worthy enough and enjoy :)**

**Sincerely,**

**¬Ms. AtomicBomb**

* * *

A thin layer of snow was beginning to cover the city as the sun was setting. The falling white flakes indicated that it was cold, and the breeze that ran straight through her proved that theory. It was on occasion that she went out to the city. She didn't like noise and the beeping cars and obnoxiously loud people did not help. Yet only for today she would take a stroll around the many shops because she was not in the mood to go home, even if her room offered the peace and quiet she was seeking. Arturia reasoned that her house was too far from her at the moment anyways and she did not want to speak with her father about her visit, she wanted to keep it as a private meeting.

She dragged her feet across the pavement floor as her hands were clutched in her brown coat as if to warm themselves, while her mouth and nose were covered by a red scarf. What made her rather cold and upset was that she remained in her uniform, and the black skirt that hung to her knees was not aiding in warming her up. Although she wore thigh-high socks, they weren't warm enough.

There were noises again -not as if they had never been there, but she focused on them this time around. People greeting one another, others waving goodbye and what she hated the most; cars crying out to one another like little children playing about in a playground. High pitched screeching, horns, engines roaring, it was too loud for her.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed as a slowed down next to her. Not even looking at it, she sped her steps up and she was now fast walking, Arturia was not in the mood of even dealing with meaningless people. It was the car horn that made her turn her head towards the black BMW, much to her surprise it was not a meaningless person, but rather her current boyfriend.

The window was rolled down and he called out to her. "Pendragon, I don't have a pick-up line nor do I have a pick-up truck, but I do have a standard." A triumphant smile on his lips and a soft look in his eyes made her roll her green orbs.

Looking around herself cautiously, she stepped towards the car and entered it. "That was the cheesiest pick-up line I have ever heard." She spoke as she buckled her seat belt.

"Hey, I put a lot of thought into it." He laughed as he got back onto the road.

"How much thought?"

"Less than a minute." A chuckle. "But it was good, if I do may say so myself."

"It was horrible."

"I'm sure you liked it, or else you would have not entered the car." He ruffled her hair with his freehand and nudged her lightly.

"Hahaha," she sarcastically laughed, "of course. Because I would fall for something so stupid."

"But you did." He smirked.

She replied with a snort and then diverted her attention to the world outside the window. The Requiem Mozart could never finish filled the car, enrapturing it in a beautiful and calming atmosphere. Arturia found it funny that the huge pick-up truck could have such beautiful music.

"So, Pendragon," he began a he rounded a corner, "where should I take you, milady? Home?"

"No, I don't want to go home right now." She responded, still keeping her gaze out the window.

"Then to Jeanne's?"

"Far. Take me to that park on the outskirts of the city." She mumbled.

"Are you sure, I mean, it's really cold outside and it would be best to stay inside."

"Yes, I'm sure. If you can take me then thanks, but if not then it's okay because I can take the five." She referred to the bus that took her straight to the park.

"I can take you, but it's getting dark." He explained as he signalled at the sky.

"Yes I very much have eyes. I think I already know that."

"Fine, I'll take you." It was a simple, low, and soft mumble.

He parked the pick-up and exited along with her. Diarmuid too liked the outdoors, but since it was cold, he had brought along some gloves so that she could use. With a hesitating look, she accepted the gloves and shot the male a small smile.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are we here?" He asked as he deemed the coast clear so that he could hold her hand.

"I just want to get away right now." She shrugged and tightened her grip around his as they entered through the small trail in the woods.

"So, are you prepared for the test?" He inquired as he raised an eyebrow.

"I am never ready for a test." She shook her head.

"You must study. Practice makes perfect." He laughed and hardened his grip on her tiny hand.

Her breaths became shorter and she tried to muffle them with the scarf. "Meh," she grumbled, "whatever."

"I, as your... Yeah," he refrained from using the word he disliked, "urge you to do your best."

"Too much work." She joked.

"How are you going to get into a good university with that mark?"

"Yeah, but I am not even going into the maths." She shrugged.

He blinked, "then what are you going into?"

His question lingered in the air for a long while and she shrugged once more. "I haven't the slightest idea."

"Then you should bring your math mark up just in case."

"Maybe."

There was silence between them again, but this time it was not awkward, but rather calming. He breathed in and turned to her as he made her pause mid step. "Are you alright?" He asked noting that she did look more in endorsed in her mind than usually.

"Yes, I'm fine." She replied.

"What's wrong? C'mon, you can tell me, I promise to keep it a secret."

"There is nothing wrong."

"Something is troubling you, and it is making me worry."

"It is something you can't fix." She blinked up at him and made no adjustment to her features, thus they seemed to sting him with coldness. It was as if she was colder than the upcoming winter that was turning out to be harsh.

"Are you positive? I can try to make it better." He smiled softly and squeezed her hand.

If Arturia chose but one word to describe it was hopeful. Whether it be of his class or of her responses to his questions, but he always held some sort of hope in his amber eyes.

"It was only the fact that I was thinking about the times that my mother and I used to come here. They were great times." She smiled a little sorrowfully and he could not help but to wrap her in his arms.

"Diarmuid," she mumbled into his chest, "what are you doing?"

"I believe it's called 'hugging' you." She felt as his chest erupted with a soft chuckle.

"Hm, very funny."

"I can try to make it better." He mumbled again and somewhat gripped her tighter. "Am I allowed to kiss your cheek?"

Once her blond head bobbed to make a nod, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Maybe this could be another place to meet?"

"I would like that very much."

They continued to walk through the path and looked carefully for deer as the snow gently fell upon and around them. It was something she found reassuring and so her cheeks lit up; he would be there for her for a while, and it made her feel warm again. Arturia found it cute that he had asked to kiss her cheek and she it made her think if he was always going to do that. 


	27. Because You Always Ask

It had been a couple of uneventful weeks but the awkwardness between them had seeped out; well nearly all of it. Still asking for permission to kiss her cheek or even hold her hand was driving her a little mad, and that was what was currently going through her mind. Their hands were intertwined and they were watching some random movie about an island or something. Apparently some amazing actor was playing the starring role, a Leonard Capricorn or something like such, she didn't really pay attention to when the male -that sat next to her -was talking about how good of an actor the man was and how he still could not understand why he had yet to win an Oscar.

Something had happened in the movie for Diarmuid to squeeze her hand just a tad bit tighter, of course she was not even paying the slightest bit of attention because all she could think of was that the relationship wasn't going to move anymore than it's current position for every time they were to kiss, he would stop her and ask her if it was alright, of course that always ruined the mood and they would end up not doing anything.

"Did you see that?" He whispered over to her.

"Hmm?" She turned her head to look at him.

"Did you see what he did? It's important for the rest of the movie, listen carefully."

Arturia blinked and moved her body so that it would face him, "Girls nowadays don't want to watch these kinds of movies," she began as he turned his head towards her, "they like to do other things." She blinked.

"Hmm? What do you mean? Are you not enjoying the movie?" He mumbled as if someone else wanted to watch the movie as well, glancing back at the screen

"We aren't worrying about the movie here," Arturia placed her hand on his cheek and directed his face back to view her, "look at me." She mumbled lightly.

Diarmuid's Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped and his eyes began to grow slowly and the distance between their faces started to close.

"You always ask for permission, but you don't have to." She spoke softly as she looked at his lips and slowly closed her eyes.

She grunted once he had pushed her away. "Not now." He mumbled.

"Why?"

"The movie is getting to its climax."

Arturia rolled her green eyes and blinked. "What." It was not a question, it was an emphasize. "You're a huge dork, you know that?"

"Shh." He silenced and tried to pay attention to the film, and not to her.

"You're doing good at the responsible adult act." She teased and caused him to silence her with yet another 'shhh'. Sometimes she thought he was a bit too mature and never liked to relax once in a while, so she stood from the couch and slowly made her way away from the living room.

"Arturia, where are you off to?" He asked, still seated upon the couch, not even bothering to glance back at her.

"Washroom." She called and instead, Arturia vanished in the male's bedroom, that was conveniently next to the washroom door.

Rolling her shoulders and stretching her neck, she walked towards the nightstand and looked upon a family picture he had perched on top. Deeming the bed safe to sit upon, she did so and simply sat still, something in the back of her mind reminded her to call Jeanne and so she did. They only conversed for a while and it was only of her telling the other teenage girl that she was fine and nothing was happening, other than watching a not so amusing movie.

"Arturia," there was a knock on the door of the washroom, "You've been in there for a while... Are you alright?"

Grumbling loudly, she stood from the bed and went to meet him. He was surprised when he found out that she was not actually in the washrrom as he had previously believed.

"What? Why were you in my room?" He looked skeptically at her, his brows furrowed and confusion pooling into his eyes.

"I needed to call Jeanne and so I thought it best to call in your room." She shrugged.

"But why my room?"

"I wanted to see it."

"You could have at least asked." He was slightly offended that she thought little of the matter and it made him get a bit more irritated thinking about it. His room was a private place, and he believed it was not really proper for her to see it so early in their relationship.

"I saw no need, I simply needed to make a call. Plus, I did not want to bother you since you were so enraptured in the movie."

"I was not enraptured." He defended.

"You were so," She blinked, "Oh so much that you didn't want to kiss me." That sentence had left her mouth with uncertainty and she felt a little stupid for saying it.

"Well," He gulped, "t-that was... that was because," his voice got stuck in his throat, "well, because..."

"Because?" She tilted her head in question.

"Well..."

"See, it's because you don't want to."

"I do! But you said that you would not kiss me until you grew a foot, remember?" He was slightly pouting and it caused her to almost start laughing.

"That was a joke." Arturia bit back her chuckle. "You're such a dork."

"Hey! You sounded very serious."

"Because I wanted to get your attention, Diarmuid."

"Well, kudos, because I believed you." The older of the two blushed and the proceeded to make his way to the kitchen, as if to avoid her for a little while, but he should have known that she was following him.

"What are we going to eat?" She asked.

He did not reply and simply opened the fridge to take out some eggs and milk. Following these actions, he went on to open the covert and took the flour jar in his hands.

"What are you making?"

Yet again there was no response as he began the process of baking.

"Why are you not answering?" Eggs were cracked as a response and she turned him so that he could face her.

Capturing her waist between his hands, he hoisted her up in the air and on to the counter. A gasp escaped her lips and she looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"May I?" His voice was a whisper as he took her face in his left hand and kept her waist in his right.

"Yes." She hushed a little exasperated and they both slowly started to close the space between their lips.


	28. So Close

**¬Author's Note¬**

**Hey guys... What am I doing wrong? I haven't heard from you in a while... I'm sorry for disappointing you! I don't know what I've done wrong, other than butchering Saber's character. Forgive me for whatever I have done wrong. Sorry! And I hope that you guys at least enjoy this chapter... I have to be honest that I wanted to stop the story since I suck at this, but a friend has fed me ideas and stuff, so hopefully they work out well... Sorry again and enjoy.**

**Sadly but sincerely,**

**¬Ms. AtomicBomb**

* * *

"Yes." She hushed back, exasperation and irritation in her voice, but he ignored it and only leaned closer towards her.

His eyes flickered to a close as the smell of sweet apple filled his lungs. _Didn't she not like apples?_ Their lips almost came to be pressed up against one other's -that was -until there was a knock on the door that caused him to jump back in panic and shock. Slowly leaving her on the counter top, he scurried off to the door.

She heard another male's voice and a decline from Diarmuid, followed by the door shutting and him returning to the milk and flour he had previously abandoned, then started to pour both of them in the large bowl that contained the eggs before whisking the substance together."Pancakes." He said. "I was making pancakes."

"What about our kiss?" She grunted. "We were so close."

"I am so sorry, but I feel it might have been a sign."

"A sign? Like from God or something? What?"

"We aren't to kiss yet."

"Come on, Dia!" She whined. "We started dating about three weeks ago and you haven't kissed me. The only thing that we've really done was hold hands and hug only three times;" She emphasized with her fingers, "if I average it out that is only a hug per week. Come on. Just a kiss. A peck."

"Not now, darling."

Arturia nearly growled and let out a huge sigh as she got off from the counter top, "Fine, but don't expect me to kiss you today either." She shrugged and went back to living room, living him to make the food by himself. Disappointment, that was what she was feeling towards the older male. She understood where he was coming from and why he was still acting hostile, if you may, but she was starting to grow irritated and unsure of the relationship they were actually in. If they were not going to have a proper relationship, then there was no point to be in the situation and have their reputations -and job from his part -on the line.

At first, Arturia had believed he would take it seriously, and they would actually have a relationship, but it wasn't turning out how she had fist envisioned it, and now she was only upset and disappointed once again. Sitting herself upon the couch she began to play the movie once more, maybe mister Leonardo DiCaprio could be a substitute for the cooking male, and not even intending it, the actor could be a better boyfriend.

By the time that Diarmuid entered the living room once more, he noted that the movie was long done and there was a sleeping female curled up upon his couch. Her head was rested upon the couch handle and a part of her hand as her knees were up to her chest trying to warm herself up. The calmness and trust of the female made Diarmuid smile and he brought a blanket to wrap around her. After laying the green blanket on top of her, he gave her a soft kiss on the forehead and turned off the television. Arturia seemed so calm when she was sleeping and for a second, he felt compelled to take great care of her, but more as a younger sister rather than what she wanted from him.

It was getting late when he decided it best to wake her, "Pendragon, wake up." His voice was a whisper as he lightly shook the sleeping teenager.

Arturia groaned something that was hard for him to make out and he only shook her again. "Five minutes, father..."

Diarmuid let out a soft laugh and shook her again. "Sorry, Pendragon, but this is you boyfriend, not your father." He chuckled.

Arturia gasped and sat up straight, almost knocking the male over since he was hovering over her. "Oh, darn, sorry." She was clearly embarrassed and blushing slightly. "Sorry I fell asleep." She spoke and rubbed her eyes. "The movie was just very boring."

"Shutter Island is not boring." The male blinked, a slight pout on his features.

Yawning, she replied, "Yes, it is. It's uneventful."

"It is not."

"Yes."

"Like, what was that ending? It was horrible! Was he insane? Or not? What was going on?" Clearly, she was frustrated by the movie and totally confused that it made her even more upset.

"That's the point, it should make you think. But he was insane, that is the truth." Diarmuid smiled, causing the beauty mark under his eye to wrinkle slightly.

Arturia huffed and then looked at the male, he was knelt down in front of her and somewhat chuckling at everything that came out of her mouth, as if she was speaking nonsense. "And how do you know that?" She asked.

"After watching this movie three times to understand, it's simple. He even says it in the end. 'Which would be worse; to live as a monster or die as a good man.' And then he chooses to die. He'd rather die as this fake persona he has created, rather than live with the burden of murdering his wife, who had killed his children. So there you have it, darling."

"Is it real?" She mumbled.

"No, it's simply based on a book."

"No, not the movie," She sighed, "The love spot."

"Love spot?" He was bewildered by what she had said, almost loosing balance for the words she chose.

"Yes, the beauty mark under your eye."

"Were you even listening to my rant on why he's insane?"

"I was." She nodded.

"What did I say?"

"Something about a fake persona and his wife."

He grunted and rolled his eyes. "What am I going to do with you?" He said out loud and took her hand in his. "Tell me."

"Maybe," She began, "Kiss me."

"Yes, it's real." He spoke, his voice a little hushed.

"I don't believe you."

"Why -tell me- why would I draw a dot on my face every day?" He blinked. Arturia shrugged as a response and he let out another chuckle. "Fine, check for yourself." Upon closing his eyes, he felt a small warm hand rub his upper cheek, where the beauty mark was perched. And all of the sudden, he felt a pair of lips press against the area, making a cut-off clicking sound.

His eyes fluttered open and grew immensely wide. "A-Arturia."

"It's real. Well... did you make me pancakes, or did you eat them all?" She stretched, as she went to stand and making her way to the kitchen, whilst he followed close behind -still blushing.

Opening the fridge, she pulled out the pancakes he had left behind for her and left them on the counter as she went to search for the fork, in which Diarmuid had offered to tell her where the utensils were, but she declined the offer because she felt she could pout smart the kitchen. Sadly, she failed miserably and he could not help but chuckle at her. "Don't laugh at me." She barked at him in a soft manner, and not actually because she was mad or anything like that.

"I'm laughing with you, not at you." He took her by the waist with a small smile on his lips.

"Yes you are." She rolled her eyes as he placed her atop the counter one more time.

"No I wasn't." He hushed.

"Are you going to tell me where the utensils are now?"

"Somewhere you cannot reach."

"Rude."

"Thank you, darling." Another chuckle and he took the position that they were in earlier in the day. "Would you let me kiss you now?" His eyes fell to her pale lips and he wanted to hear the answer he had heard before.

"Ugh," She grunted, "Fine." Diarmuid watched as he lips stretched into a small smile. His eye lids fluttered to a close once again and within a second or two, their lips connected. It made the tips of his fingers curl around her slowly. His left hand kept a gentle hold on her face as he gripped her waist a tad bit tighter.

Arturia was filled with warmth and she, hesitantly, began to kiss the male back. It was not a long over exaggerated kiss, but it wasn't a simple peck either. They were kissing for a little while before he pulled away, leaning his forehead against her own.

"Wow." He mumbled so lightly it could have gone unheard if they were not as close as they currently were. "Thank you."

Arturia grumbled and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him back into a kiss. "No need to thank me." Another slightly irritated whisper from the female before she crashed her lips against his plump ones.

They kissed in a gentle way, for he was still very shy and did not want to cross any lines, even if just having her around him was making him twitch. She tried her best to bring him closer because she deemed him too far away from her and she needed to crane her neck in an unnatural way, which was only troublesome.

"You're," he began before he brought her lips to his once again, "a bit," he spoke before yet another kiss, "eager, no?"

Arturia pulled away and got off the counter to make her way back to the pancakes. "I am not. It only took you three weeks to finally kiss me. In my defence, it's not my fault." She shrugged. "I only wanted to make sure that you were worth it."

"That I was worth it?" He furrowed his dark brows. "What?"

"But you are."

"Wait, wait, wait, come back here." He took her by the wrist and twisted her about so that he could wrap her in his arms again. "I'm not worth it?"

"I said that you were."

"But you weren't sure?"

"I'm not saying anything about that." She hushed.

Hoisting her up again and placing her on the counter, he smiled. "You are now as tall as I am, you have finally grown that foot and that is why I finally kissed you."

"I see."

"So, with the new found evidence, it has been concluded that I am definitely worth it." He laughed and caressed her cheek.

"Don't laugh." She blinked up at him with her cold personality.

"Did I offend you? What's wrong, darling?" He teased.

"Don't touch me." She mumbled and pushed his hand away.

Diarmuid nodded and took a step back so that he could give her some space, retracting his hands from her body and running a hand through his hair whilst taking a deep breath and biting his lower lip.

"I was only teasing, Dia." She laughed and tried to reach him without moving from the place she was seated upon. "Come back."

"No, you're right. We were going a bit too fast, we should cool it down for a while, I was crossing the line and I understand."

"Ugh," she grunted, "no you weren't, now come back." She groaned loudly and stretched her body so she could reach the male.

"Even if I didn't, I still feel like I have to stop myself." He mumbled a little shaky. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me? What do you mean?"

"I just mean that I don't want to do anything that you wouldn't like to."

"We were only kissing." She hummed and dropped down from the counter in order to make her way towards the male.

"It's rather late, it would be best if you go home; your father might worry."

"Why? What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"Hurry along," A small smile on his lips, "We'll see each other tomorrow." He gave her a kiss on the cheek and led her to the door.

"Hopefully by then; you won't be acting so weird." She spoke as she blinked and headed out the door. "See you then."


	29. Author's Note: IMPORTANT

**~Author's Note~**

**Hello everyone. I have had trouble deciding this, and Shaaniqua's review has made me finally push myself towards this option. I will discontinue the story and start it from scratch, I will keep this version posted up so that if people actually like it, they are able to go back to it, as well as compare it with the new and improved version. This is simply because I want to make it better and trust me, I hope that it can only be much better than before. Of course it will take me a while to re-upload it, but I am going to discontinue it here it. Sorry, I simply feel that it would be best for me to do so. Sadly, I'm going to miss and loose a lot of my reviewers and followers to this story. But yet again, I feel it would be best if I actually want this story to succeed. Thanks for reading the story up to this point, and I really hope that you will return when the story has been fixed. Thank you, and have a great day.**

**Sincerely,**

**~Ms. AtomicBomb**

**P.S. My decision has nothing to do with Shaaniqua's review, I have simply allowed myself to do this.**


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